COMMENTARY: Cherishing holiday memories during a strange year

In this time of COVID, it is clear that Thanksgiving Day for most Americans will be much different that ever before. That is why it is so important for us to remember the wonderful memories we all have of happier Thanksgivings.

In our house, when I was a young boy, Thanksgiving started with my three brothers and I waking up to the wonderful aroma of pies baking in the oven. I always liked it when my mother made pies because she let us help her by coring and peeling apples, mixing the pumpkin and milk for pumpkin pies and slicing bananas and mixing the bananas in the pudding. She would usually reward us by giving us small bite-sized pieces of rolled dough and cinnamon, which were delicious eaten fresh out of the oven.

At about 11 a.m. mom, dad, my brothers and I would walk over to my grandparents home on the next block carrying pies and dishes of food. We were usually the first to arrive. But about an hour later, there would be 20-some adults and children in my grandparents small home and about 12 men and boys crowded into my grandparents front room and adjacent bedroom.

Sometime near the noon hour, the aroma of food being prepared would waft through the house. Finally, at about 1 p.m., my mother or one of my aunts would call everyone to eat. The kids 14 years and younger either had to eat in the kitchen, in the front room or wait for an opening at one of the two tables. The meal would always begin with my grandfather or my Uncle John or my dad saying grace, and then everyone would dig in. The women ate last by choice because they prepared and served the meal and afterwards they could sit down together and take their time without being rushed. I know this to be true because my mother told me that was why she liked to eat last.

And what memorable feasts they were — serving dishes piled high with turkey, my grandmother’s turkey, mother’s unique stuffing, Aunt Beverly’s succulent ham, my Aunt Teresa’s great enchiladas and — if we were lucky — my Aunt Vicky’s meat-filled tamales, bowls of buttered mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, vegetables, Waldorf salad, soda pop, beer for the adults, pies of all kinds, Jell-o, pudding and just about anything anyone would want to eat. It was an unforgettable family experience with everyone talking, laughing, eating, telling stories, complimenting the cooks and enjoying the meal and company.

Regrettably, as the years rolled on our Thanksgiving Day celebrations started to change when the older boys joined the Marines, Army and Air Force. Today, I think often of those care-free, unforgettable days and about how happy and simple life was when the grandparents were still strong, our parents were young and all of the young men and women in our family were just starting their lives.

To this day, it is still hard for me to accept the fact that those days are gone forever. I guess that is why I have tried so hard to create special memories on holidays for my own family. In the end, maybe that is all I or anyone can do, which is to try to preserve as much as possible the memory of those things that were special in our lives. If that is true, then this unique Thanksgiving is a great time to remember all of the happy and wonderful Thanksgivings we all have had throughout our lives.

Tom Rodriguez writes from Henderson.