Holidays Past....spent with my Grandparents [View all]

My Grandmother has been gone now for about 10 years and I always miss being in the kitchen with her on Thanksgiving.

My Grandmother grew up in the Great Depression and like many of that era, practiced being frugal.

She didn't spend money on Tupperware. She used old margarine dishes and the glass mayonnaise jars for storage.
Her dishes didn't match--she just added to them over the years, replacing those that were broken or missing.
She saved her foil.
She taught me how to peel a potato thinly so as not to waste any unnecessary potato.
Nothing was thrown away--vegetable scraps and turkey necks were used for the broth.
After dinner, the leftovers were carefully placed in the margarine bowls and put back in the refrigerator.

I think many of us have forgotten to be carefully frugal. My Grandparents were not well off, but they had enough--because they were careful with what they had and took very good care of it.

My Grandparents never splurged. One year, for Christmas, I sent them a gift of Omaha Steaks. I knew they would think it was too extravagant, so along with that, I also made a donation in their name to Second Harvest--for the same amount I spent on the steaks. My Grandpa liked that.

I pause to reflect on this day of giving thanks, how thankful I am to have known these generous, frugal people and I miss their love everyday.

This holiday has never been spent in my family celebrating the fairy tale of Indians and Pilgrims living together in perfect harmony.

This holiday has always been about our family. Our friends. Our loved ones. Breaking bread together and enjoying a day of cooking and playing games and watching football and eating.

Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving in our family we always put up our Christmas tree...eating leftovers and still spending time with our loved ones.

For these reasons, and these reasons alone, I cannot partake in Black Friday.

My childhood memories won't allow me.