Tomorrow the most common question one might hear is "what are you thankful for?"
We are just supposed to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day? Of course not. But it is a good time to take a moment to reflect.
My friend, Wendy, was very complimentary as she spoke to another friend about me.
"She has an incredible memory."
Yeah, I do have quite the memory.
And on this morning I am rememboring so many Thanksgivings . . .
When I was a little girl, my grandma Pauline Mercer Nesmith and her sisters often celebrated Thanksgiving together. She had four sisters who lived in the area, and their children were my parents' friends as well as cousins. Their children and I went to the same church and school. We shared in the joy and sadness. I guess you might say that one of the things I am still thankful for is that incredibly large family of Mercer cousins.
College and marriage prevented me from being in Jacksonville for many years. That didn't prevent me from celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. They came to me.
One special time they came was in 1979. For the first time since 1965, the plan was for my little family to be in Jacksonville for Thanksgiving. However, an unfortunate accident prevented that. I was heartsick as I called to say that Tray had been burned and we would be in the hospital for the next few days. Not to worry - my family just packed up Thanksgiving and came to us.
The first Thanksgiving that Ray Parker and I had separated, our family traveled to Florence, South Carolina and enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Capps. That's a sad memory, one I choose not to dwell on. Except my dear North Carolina friends. Ronald and Julia Queen came to see us, and I'll always remember a sweet time of fellowship and Ronald's precious prayer for me.
In 1986, Ray's mother, Margaret, was near death. So the children and I (with my parents) traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to say goodbye. We took a small turkey breast and some of the trimmings and had a Thanksgiving picnic in a Georgia State Park and we all remember that as a fun time. We even have a video of us singing "Come, ye thankful people come".
18 years later, I had married Rich Suhey that spring, and he was already gone. A massive coronary took him just eight months into our marriage. It was a devastating time - especially since we had planned to be in San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving, so no one had made plans for me to be a part of Thanksgiving. In a very dear gesture, Renee, Wally, and Tray suggested we go out for Thanksgiving. We had done that once when my children were teenagers. We could do that again.
And so we did - only this time we went to Cracker Barrel. We had gone to the Hilltop many years before.
This year, Thanksgiving is a little different once more. Thankfully, no one has died, no marriages are in dire straights. Things are really quite good.
And I am going to make a new memory with Iva Lou. We are going to share Thanksgiving with some of the people who are her new table mates at Brookdale Mandarin. If she were writing this she would surely say that is what she is thankful for - and so do I.
It is our mother who taught us one of her favorite scriptures - one she lives by.
We don't have to wait until Thanksgiving Day to say thanks!
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