Thanksgiving

So I am really, really tired. I spent yesterday getting ready for Thanksgiving--I woke up, fed the kids, cut up a squash and a pumpkin(that we grew), got the seeds ready to roast, drained the pumpkin flesh a little bit, and made cranberry sauce.  Then I had to go to the store to get food, not for Thanksgiving, but you know, the everyday kind that you have to feed your family at least three times a day.  And then it was lunch and then pie making--two pies, from scratch.  In there was some silver polishing and table linen considerations.

And today there was the turkey, and stuffing, and mashed potatoes and squash and kale salad.  (And a terrible aphid infestation on the kale to be dealt with) and gravy.  And table setting and cleaning and washing dishes to make room for more cooking.    And sometimes, as I am wandering through the supermarket, I wonder why I am doing this--there are frozen pie crusts, and canned fillings, and stuffing, and gravy, and it really doesn't have to be so much work.  Obviously, it wouldn't taste as good, but that is not the reason that I don't want to do it that way.  It's the work and preparation that makes the event fun. It's like that with everything.  Real pleasure comes from work.  And I hope my children can see that.

And now, as I listen to my lovely mother-in-law cracking my children up as she bathes them, I am so content.