A Bit Late

Lindsey from A Day in the Life of a Marine Corps Wife asked me to do a Thanksgiving guest piece for her. You can go leave me love here or for you lazies, I'm re-posting it. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

How The Superman's Eat Their Turkey

I don't know if you know this or not, but we haven't always been the Superman family. Shocker, I know. Technically, Mr. Superman has always been The Man of Steele, but me? I used to be A freckle faced strawberry with the last name of Organ. People always ask, "Like the piano?" and I always respond, "No, like the heart."

Thanksgiving for me, has always held a very special place in my heart. From a very young age, I looked forward to that extraordinary Thursday, every November. It may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I got to stuff my chubby little freckled face full of incredible food. When I was still very young, it was a time that I got to get together with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins at the park. There was always tons of food and lots of laughter. My mom's side of the family is BIG and LOUD. Both of those are rather bit of an understatement. We usually would swing around and visit my dad's mother and sister as well and it was my dad's mom who got me hooked on and in love with sweet potatoes.

As I got older, and consequently, the rest of my extended family all began to grow up, get married, and started their own families, the Thanksgiving gatherings grew smaller and smaller to where now, instead of all 10 of my mom's siblings and all of their families coming, its dwindled down to a meager 4 or 5 families who still attend and come to enjoy the food, company, and the annual, sometimes competitive, volleyball game. My grandpa has passed away so its my grandma who we all flock to as the anchor of the family. Even though she has very few lucid moments where she knows who you are and which of her children you belong to, she is still the gentlest, kindest, most maternal person I know.

I also remember looking forward to my special task of making the gravy every year. My parents always get their turkeys smoked in a deep fire pit that is put on every year by the Scouts in my church. Its always the most deliciously moist turkey ever. My task was to take the turkey drippings and with my mom's help, make an incredible gravy to go with the rest of the feast.

Once I got married, I never once thought that my Thanksgiving's would change. Naivete? Maybe. Was I dreaming big? Straight up.

Our first year together as a married couple, we split things between my family (immediate and extended) and his family (immediate). We did lunch with mine, pie and afternoon meal with his family, and then a late dinner again with my family. Mr. Superman knew that Thanksgiving had always been one of the days that means most to me and since he happens to not care for turkey or pie too much, he was all for making me happy.

Our second year together was spent doing just about the complete opposite. We had arrived to Georgia two weeks previous and were over 2,000 miles away from everyone we knew and loved. We were in a brand new house with only an air mattress and our suitcase. We received a call the night before notifying us that the semi truck with all of our possessions would be arriving Thanksgiving morning. We spent the day moving furniture and unpacking. Mr. Superman knew me well enough that he was able to tell I was rather down about not having a normal Thanksgiving. He ran to the store under the pretenses of picking up toilet paper and came back with turkey, gravy, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pie. This is why I love that man. We cooked our feast in the microwave and then ate off our our finest china paper goods. We wrapped up the night watching a movie on our mattress in the living room and telling each other what we were most grateful for.

This year, I could have never guessed that I would be spending Thanksgiving back on the Western side of the United States or that my loverface would be over 8,000 miles away from me. It is what it is though and we are determined to make the best and most of everything. I will be spending my Thanksgiving with Mr. Superman's family in Utah, enjoying great food, good company, and amazing, cold weather. I couldn't send a feast to Afghanistan but I did make sure to send my love some of his favorite snacks and a new book to keep him company.

Despite life happening, people growing up, and families and traditions changing, there is a universal truth that has always been and will continue to remain constant. Thanksgiving is a time to recognize the good in everything. Yes, we should always be grateful and thank God for our many blessings but I love that there is a day, specifically dedicated to that purpose. Its also a time to remember why we are all able to be here in this country. Very brave and courageous men and women gave up their lives and homes under threat of death, crossed the ocean, and started anew. People have fought to become and remain free. Hundreds of thousands of people are still fighting for that same purpose, including my husband. This Thanksgiving, I will be thinking and praying constantly for these wonderful souls who are so selfless and giving and thanking my Heavenly Father for all that He has given to me. Even though I know our family may not always be together for normal traditions, I do know that we will always be eating our turkey, wherever we may be, with our hearts full of gratitude and love.