Holidays

Holidays are supposed to be a wonderful time of year, aren't they?  I used to love them when I was younger, probably because my Mother is the best cook I have ever met.  When I fix the dishes that she used to fix for Thanksgiving and Christmas, my able groans, trying to hold it all.
There was a turkey, of course, ( while I love ham, it is for Easter, thank you just the same) and corn bread dressing. We are southern, it is the best dressing in the world.  And then there would be some sort of vegetable, usually broccoli or cauliflower.  There was also macaroni salad, baked beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked sweet potatoes, and the best yeast roll you have ever put in your mouth.  When you recovered from that round, there was banana pudding, fruit salad, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, and lemon meringue pie.  It was a feast.
It also took a whole week to fix everything, and we ate left overs for almost a month.  When I think of family gatherings, I always consider the food that we ate.  It was delicious, which didn't hurt, but it was the back drop for everyone that had come over.
Years later, after enduring several b a d  meals at the exe's Aunt's- I offered to cook and even his crazy father jumped at the idea.  I don't enjoy cooking all the time, but when I do, I like to go all in the way my Mother does. I didn't even mention the deviled eggs or the plates of olives and cheese that were out.  It just makes me homesick thinking about it.
So anyway, now that I am the grown up and my Mother lives about a million miles away from me, hopefully I will give my own children the same memories.
Even relatives that are more than annoying are tolerable when  the holidays are here.  If you don't have family close, consider getting together with all of the people you know that also have no where to go for the day.  There is always more happiness in a group, I think.
One of the saddest things to me is the dairy queen in this stupid little town is always hopping on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I guess there are lots of people who have no where to go.  So if you can open your home to friends, think about having a meal with them on the Holiday.  You'll thank me later.