Fakes-giving...

Question: What do you get when you take 2 shoppers, 5 cooks (Mia included) and a 16 pound Turkey???

Answer: Fakes-giving dinner.

Okay here’s the story. Mom always made the Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings. She would get up at what seemed like the crack of dawn, make her signature stuffing and get the turkey in the oven all before we woke up. So, where does that leave us? That leaves us with never having made a turkey before let alone buying one. That leaves us with less than 30 days till the big day. That leaves us without a turkey. Where do you get a fresh not frozen turkey the night before Fakes-giving? Hmmm…exactly. After countless stores it dawned on John…Zorn’s. Called them up and sure enough they had some. Okay so now we have the turkey, great!

On to Fakes-giving day (Oct. 28). Off to the stores John & Michael went. We girls, Christine, Lisa and Mia held down the fort at home. The Indians (Bob, Steve & James) were having visions of turkey drumsticks dance in their heads. Our guest Phyllis (Sandi’s Mom) was home waiting for the feast. The pressure was mounting.

Home came the shoppers and it’s off to the kitchen. There was cutting, there was chopping. There was the mixing of the Cheerios (Mia’s part). There was the browning of the sausage. There were tears but most of all there was laughter. Laughter, which filled the kitchen knowing that Mom was looking down on us and laughing her ass off. But you know what, we did it. We actually did it!!! Everything turned our great.

We set the dining room table for what would be the first dining room meal without Mom. Who was to take the head seat, Mom’s seat? Me? No I couldn’t. Leave it empty? Nope, that didn’t seem right. Fill it with one of Mom’s joys…Mia. Yup, that’s exactly what we did. Mom would be happy. I won’t lie…It was hard. Hard to set the table knowing she wasn’t there. Hard sitting down to eat knowing that she wouldn’t be there.

But we gathered as a family around the dining room table and enjoyed a feast that Mom would be proud of. Was she there with us? You bet she was!

~Christine

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