I was shocked the past few days when I went outside and it was cold. What is more, there are turkeys in the freezers in the grocery stores. I see stuffing, cranberries and pumpkins on the end of every store aisle. How can this be, how did we get to less than a week to Thanksgiving?
Somehow in the hurry and scurry of getting on with my regular life, in between the appointments for my injured son, and the crazy things going on in the world, the days of November have ticked off one by one, until they have dwindled to a precious few.
Earlier this week, I had to break down and start preparing for the upcoming festivities for what has become known as Turkey Day. I bought a turkey, and it sits in my freezer. Every year, I think that I shouldn’t get a turkey. I am not fond of turkey. It is not the taste that I object to. However, the bird is big, hard to handle, needs to be thawed and seasoned, and wrestled into a roasting pan very early in the morning.
At least this year it sounds like it will be cold enough for it to sit in the roaster in my garage for the thawing process. That is a good thing, because I seldom have room in my refrigerator for that to be done.
This year, I will be hosting the big meal at noon, so that means another early morning, and a hope that the bird gets done in time. It is a 16-pounder, but I know that with my less than healthy shoulders it will feel more like 16 tons.
Those last two words remind me of a Tennessee Ernie Ford song, “You load 16 tons and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt; St. Peter don’t call me ‘cause I can’t go, I owe my soul to the company store.”
Of course, he was singing about coal mining, not turkey roasting, but hardly a year goes by without my remembering that song, and the guy who sang it. He always ended his TV show with, “Bless your little pea-picking heart.” I miss that show, and a lot of other old TV shows that were wholesome and funny.
There is a lot to be thankful for this day and every day of our lives. Quite often, I get caught up in the everyday parts of life that seem to be more doom and gloom, but it doesn’t take much to remind me that life really isn’t all that bad.
People who suffered through storms early in the year have not fully recovered, and now more storms. Many ranchers out west lost a lot of their cattle when an unseasonal snow dumped on them in the late summer. In other countries there are wars, persecution and storms. I hear of those tragic situations, and my heart goes out to them.
Somehow, shopping does not enter into my mind for Thanksgiving. I haven’t even gotten any Christmas decorations outside at this point, and a frozen ground may prevent some of my plans.
(No matter, this Thanksgiving, as those that went before, I will “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1.)
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