Thanksgiving

Ahhh...Thanksgiving. Yesterday was a great day with my family, eating and laughing together. I'm so thankful for my family as well as a whole LIST of other things.....I just haven't had time to reflect on ALL that I'm thankful for so maybe another day I'll make that list! But, this year, I'm especially thankful for my family and for the little family God has given to me.

For some reason, this Thanksgiving I was thinking of Aaron and my first Thanksgiving together and it is much too funny of a story not to share so, here it goes! Let's just say....I had NO idea what I was doing!

I was in the midst of my last semester of college, student teaching at a junior high, and Aaron had a security job in downtown Minneapolis until I was done student teaching. His security job required him work most holidays so we learned quickly that it is okay to celebrate holidays on days other than the actual day. I had a hard time with that at first! Anywho, he had to work Thanksgiving but got off at 5:00, just in time for a Thanksgiving dinner. A Thanksgiving dinner that his new bride of course knew how to make....*insert laughter*

He had also invited a co-worker with no family over to our small apartment so the stakes were even higher. My first mistake was thinking I could procrastinate buying food. Earlier in the week, I had looked at turkeys and decided that it was probably like making a roast and I could buy it the night before. :) Oh, and you must know that since money was tight, our refrigerator was always a bit on the empty side....

Exhaustion set in the night before Thanksgiving and Aaron assured me that I could pick up the food on Thanksgiving Day. "We live in Minneapolis...everything's open on Thanksgiving!" he said. I got up early Thanksgiving morning, made my list, and headed to Target. There wasn't a car in SIGHT and I carefully read the sign "Thanksgiving Day-Closed"

Okay, I thought. Well, obviously Rainbow will be open. Heading to every grocery store in the vicinity, I came up with the same luck. Nobody was open and there was NO way I was getting the food I needed for our first Thanksgiving Dinner! Looking back it seems odd to me because there are definitely grocery stores open on Thanksgiving but for some reason, 5 years ago nothing was open :)

Heading back to our apartment, I looked at the time....11:00AM. I quickly called my mom to brainstorm ideas for some sort of nice Thanksgiving meal. She was preparing for my brother's wedding that would happen a mere 2 days later but had plenty of time to help me out of my funny Thanksgiving mess :)

First, I brainstormed a meat idea. Finding a roast in the very back of my freezer, I quickly threw it in the crockpot with some seasoning and broth that I had laying around. Okay, at least I'll have some sort of meat, I thought.

Next, I needed sides. The more traditional Thanksgiving, the better, especially because there would be no turkey. I found one big package of frozen Iowa corn my mom had sent with me when I got married. My mom helped me think up a scalloped corn mixture with food that I had (that was delicious, by the way!!), and I set out to find more around the house. I seriously just started grabbing cans and putting them together, calling my mom every hour to have her think of other recipes or ways to make things out of what I had. I have to admit....it was slightly fun even though it was the craziest, most RANDOM Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had! Preparing a few more sides (although I can't remember what all we had!), I found some frozen rolls AND an extra pumpkin pie that I had completely forgotten about! I still can't remember where that pumpkin pie came from.....maybe an angel :)

Cooking and preparing away, 5:00 finally came and as Aaron stepped through the door with his co-worker behind, I laughed while they commented on the delicious smell filling the apartment. While it wasn't the most traditional meal, it was probably the most memorable Thanksgiving and a pretty special one at that. :) The food was actually good and somehow all fit together! I wish I remembered some of those recipes but since it was thrown together, I may never know how I made some things :)

I learned some things that day, though. I learned to never, ever wait until Thanksgiving Day to PLAN your meal. Oh my! And, obviously I know now that you cannot pick up a turkey a few hours before you plan on cooking it....I didn't have a clue all the preparation that goes into making a turkey :) But, I also learned that with a little creativity, one can prepare a pretty fun meal with very little. The best lesson though? Although food is important to Thanksgiving, the most important aspect about Thanksgiving is being grateful for what you have and giving thanks in all circumstances. What a beautiful lesson on my first Thanksgiving. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!