margaret and helen's thanksgiving letter

Thanksgiving Letter to the Family 2016

Dear Family,

I look forward to seeing you all for Thanksgiving. This will be my last Thanksgiving as the head cook and bottle washer. Next year, God willing, I will sit back and relax while the next generation takes the lead. Until then, you’re going to have to humor me one last time. As always you can leave your electronic devices in the basket by the door and I suggest you do the same with your political opinions. My turkey has both white and dark meat. That means at my table you can be someone who voted for Donald Trump but you do not need to be someone who acts like Donald Trump. If you don’t heed my warning, you’ll get the store-bought pies Gertrude brings rather than my homemade ones.

This year I learned that it takes all kinds. For that reason, I am broadening my horizons and opening my mind to the fact that some of you have certain dietary concerns. So listen close. If you are avoiding fat, sugar, sodium or gluten you should be concerned. If you are vegetarian, I think you might be able to forage enough on the table to make a meal.

We have two new babies in the family. What a joy. The back bedroom is the perfect get-away for naps, but an inside trashcan is the wrong place for dirty diapers. Put your disposable diapers in a trash bag and take them all the way to the can outside. Thanksgiving is on a Thursday and the trash truck doesn’t come until the following Tuesday. That’s six days of smell I do not need. Double bag them and bury them deep so I don’t see them.

. . . .


I love each and every one of you and I am so glad to have yet another holiday together. Come hungry and leave full. Hug one another because you can. Argue if you must, but then agree to disagree. Try something new or let go of something old. Give more. Take less. Oh hell. Listen to me rattle on like I am some sort of philosopher. Screw it. Come for the food and stay for the company. Everything else can be made better with gravy. I mean it. Really.

https://margaretandhelen.com/