Turkey...

The miles are long, the landscape wide, separating me and my family of origin. It was not long ago that we drove to Colorado to be with my clan, crazy as they are, and it was something to be savored. We talked long hours about people and events, now long gone, that brought meaning to our lives. The funny stories of my grampa's really BAD driving habits. (One summer day years ago he nearly drove my sister, my gramma, me and himself into the Platte River while trying to turn onto a bridge in the mountains of Colorado). Scary then, HILARIOUS at the Thanksgiving Day reunion just a few years ago.

But the true joy of that Thanksgiving Reunion just two years ago now, took place just after Thanksgiving dinner was all cleaned up and put away. I have a very musical family, so my brother brought several guitars, mandolins and banjos. As the sun began to set, my brother Harold picked up a guitar and started playing the gospel song, "I'll Fly Away," I think, to which we all joined in. Hours it seemed went by, song after song, peppered with stories of life as it was, and the people who made it special. There were tears that night, partly because of the joy that had come to this scattered bunch of Hutsons, but partly in recognition that this moment would never return. It was one of the best holiday gatherings I have ever been part of. Laughter, song, tears. Does it get any better than that?

So eat, drink and be thankful for the person, perhaps no longer with you, who brought meaning to your life and years later made you laugh!

Have a laughter-filled, teary-eyed, Thanksgiving! It will be worth the miles!