Another Missed Thanksgiving Day

The last visit we made to my home state of California was finished before Thanksgiving in early November of 2019. After that it wasn’t possible to get back there for many obvious reasons, namely a worldwide stoppage of travel outside one's permanent residence, with many other deterrents added along the way to that overwhelming obstacle. But I really thought that life would be a little ahead of where we are now and that perhaps I’d be back for this one that’s taking place today as I write this blog. But even my immediate family back there is split by distance now with many of them relocated far from where we all were, as we are to a much larger degree. So most of the Thanksgiving feasts that are being held are much smaller groupings of the relatives than they used to be. That said, I still miss being with all of them and can picture and almost taste the turkey as it comes out of the oven stuffed with delectable, aromatic flavors inside the bird that waft into the kitchen, as my son, Jeremy,  carves it so perfectly. 

I lived in the States from the time I was born until I was almost 50 and I never missed, but sometimes hosted my own Thanksgiving meals at my house. But despite wherever they were held, I was thrilled to get together with my sisters and folks and assorted children that were still living at home or had just gone out on their own steam. That raucous dinner with unforgettable laughter and beaming grins was one of the highlights of my whole year. There’s nothing to compare sharing our favorite foods cooked to perfection by various relatives and eaten with heaps of love and camaraderie as we joked about our failings or shared our triumphs. I do so miss that revelry. It was such a significant part of my life that just dried up when I moved to New Zealand. 

Although we celebrated many wonderful occasions here with John’s family that I’ve often really enjoyed, losing my part of that equation has been a wound that’s never exactly healed. 

I know that when I go back to the States and begin our twice yearly long stays there of at least 10 weeks, that my sore feelings will start to mend again and I will look forward to coming home to New Zealand from there in between. But for now, it seems to be a one way hurt. So although we seem pretty close to fixing a lot of the problems of the world, until that happens I’ll just have to bide my time in paradise in my exquisite garden with my remarkable husband and await our next adventure back to my past so we can catch up as if we’ve never been gone.

Since I can’t exactly show photos of the foods we’ve made for this occasion since we didn’t make or eat any of them here, I’ll include some more of my beautiful garden shots that are so dear to my heart.