So Easy to Say Thanks

This one's from a piece I wrote back in 2009.

Seems like the Thanksgiving Days I remember as a kid mostly started out cold and foggy and gray.

Seems like just yesterday I was hanging out close to our crackling wall heater as Dad, my brother Jay, and I watched the Packers do what they’ve always done to the Detroit Lions.

And eventually, the men in our family wore down Mom’s resistance to sports and she joined in. But we never succeeded in snapping Mom’s grip on reality; she always knew Sport was the Toy Department. In my case, reality disappeared after I first heard the profound words, “Play ball!”.

Even as a kid, I always had the sense I was really lucky. And with every year my grip on that reality gets stronger and stronger.

Mom would clean the spinach Wednesday night and then join Aunt Clara just as NFL Turkey Game Two got going. Together, my Mom and Aunt made enough ravioli to feed the Sicilian Infantry…or at least the equivalent: Jay and Cousin Herb. Oh, and we also had turkey and all the traditional fixings. And, once we cleared our palates with fresh melon and strawberries, there was always room for loads of Italian cookies; and who can pass on a Sicilian cannoli or two? And big deal if I was still eating at the card table?

By the time all my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins had arrived and America’s Team had finished off Game Two, I was already content (before dinner.) I loved just sitting back, closing my eyes, and listening to Uncle Johnnie and Uncle Tony renew some ancient neighborhood debate that probably began before Nat “King” Cole had started singing at Uncle “Tony’s Nightmare” (Still my all-time greatest name for a bar.)

Maybe I remember Thanksgiving Day being cold and gray because indoors everything was so warm and full of life…and love. And you already know I’ve never tasted anything as incredible as the ravioli Mom and Aunt Clara used to make.

This Thanksgiving was all about exercise, sun screen, and finishing off our dental practice's online newsletter. And I believed in global warming even before Sarah Palin came out against it; but 80 degrees? The Packers beat up on the hapless Lions and I guess I’d rather ride a stationary bike in a roomful of mirrors than watch that so-called “rivalry” played out.

These days, homemade ravioli comes out of a restaurant kitchen; I’m grateful I still get to see some of my cousins before USC football games. I make a conscious effort to recall our family’s glory days…and I succeed.

So yesterday I went by Marie Callender’s and picked up a feast designed for two; my Aunt Clara and me.

I know you’ve read about Aunt Clara here before. And she’ll kill me but she’ll have to catch me when I share that she was 96 this past Fourth of July. Aunt C. takes care of her house, drives, and (you’re gonna love this one)…does my laundry. I get to speak with Aunt Clara every day; I get to break bread with her whenever she can fit me into her social schedule. Whenever I need to speak to someone who really cares, I give Aunt Clara a call.

I forgot to tell ya that Aunt Clara has her own space in the Temple City Dental Care online newsletter; it’s called “What’s up with Aunt Clara?” My Aunt’s advice for this month: “It’s so easy to say thanks; people should do it more often.”

And I swear I’m gonna look for opportunities to say thanks…and sometimes thanks doesn’t seem like nearly enough.

Aunt C. was a powerhouse all the way to her last breath...at age 100.5.