Thankful

Thanksgiving is upon us. One of my favorite holidays. When I taught I recall how kids would moan and grumble under their breath when asked to write about something for which they were thankful. Sixth graders had "been there, done that" in all of the previous grades, and for them it was just another stupid assignment. Truth be told I probably would have reacted the same way back in sixth grade. Kids typically want to say they are thankful for all of the materialistic things in their lives - their cell phone, iPod, wii system, PS3, or their flat screen plasma TV. It was always hard to get them to think about the things they should be thankful for - family, friends, food, roof over their head, clothing, and good health. These are all the things that most kids just take for granted. Maybe too many adults do too.

I know many families have a tradition before they begin their Thanksgiving meal. They go around the table, each person sharing one thing for which they are thankful. My family never did that, mainly because in an Italian family there is never a break in the conversation, because there are several going on simultaneously. Italians can be part of one conversation, jump into another one and get back into the original one without missing a thing. Amazing. Not that we weren't thankful for all of the things I mentioned. You can be sure we were.

Preparation for Thanksgiving in the Guagenti household began days in advance. My grandma would make homemade pasta and it would be hanging on sheets placed over the furniture on which to dry. She would make her delicious Bolognese sauce, which simmered on the stove for hours. She and my grandpa would make homemade Italian sausage on the old-fashioned meat grinder. Sometimes the pasta meal would be gnocchi. My cousins and I had the job of "rolling" the gnocchi off our forks to put the impression into the little blob of pasta to help in its cooking. Inevitably we would have gnocchi wars - flinging the dough at one another. My grandma would have a fit, and we would laugh even harder. Other years the pasta of the day was tortellini or passatelli (my personal favorite). These pastas were made for grandma's homemade chicken broth. My job would be to turn the little round dough into the sailor hat shape. Very fun. Baking would be going on as well - Italian cheesecake, Zuppa Inglese, cookies, pies. Our table would include pasta, turkey, ham, and several vegetables. After dinner we would have fruit and nuts. I used to love to use the nutcracker to get at the nut meats. Desserts would then be served along with coffee. The meal ended with roasted chestnuts and Mogan David wine. My grandfather was the chestnut roaster in the family, and he used his iron stovetop roaster, with a crank, to roast the chestnuts to perfection. He would then wrap them in a towel to steam them. We would anxiously wait for him to tell us they were ready. When my grandpa passed away the job went to my dad whose job it became until his passing. The chestnut roaster went to my brother who has resumed the role of roaster.

As in most families, then and now, after dinner the men would adjourn to the TV room to watch football and sleep while the women would clean up and catch up on gossip. The kids would play in the basement, oblivious to what the grownups were doing upstairs. That probably hasn't changed as our family has seen the normal changes time brings - deaths and births. I know I will awaken very early in the morning while Artie enjoys a chance to sleep in. I will think about all the things, past and present, that I am thankful for. The love I have experienced since my first breath to today. The people I care so much about. The wonderful opportunities I have been afforded in my life. The unconditional love of a certain Yorkshire Terrier. The gift of three precious grandchildren. The amazing friends I have known and love. I am very thankful on this, and every other day of my life. Happy Thanksgiving!