Canned Gratitude

Sharing a reminder to think of traditional Thanksgiving dinners as rest stops, not races.

My adult son left a message with this last-minute Thanksgiving menu request:

"Cranberry sauce…the kind you buy in a can. This is important.”

I nodded to myself and smiled, with a clear understanding about the family history behind his canned cranberry sauce request. It all began with one unforgettable “over-the-top” Thanksgiving dinner we shared around my parent’s expanded holiday table more than 25 years ago.     

That year my mother, who had graduated with a degree in speech and drama from the renown HBCU, Florida A&M, demonstrated the power of her dramatic training by staging the ultimate holiday meal for family and friends.

photo by J. E. Pierce

This menu included four birds. Yes—four birds: a wild turkey, a deep-fried Creole specialty, an organic free-range hen and a 16-pounder from the supermarket freezer case. Plus, for good measure, Mom added a spiral-sliced ham and every imaginable holiday side dish to the meal.