We would trade holidays each year with either Dad's family or Mom's family. Thanksgiving with Mom's family meant going to my grandma's house, and all of Mom's Aunts, Uncles, and cousins would come over and we'd have a delicious meal made by Grandma, Mom, and her aunts always brought something too. We'd all sit around the table in the dining room and laugh and talk and eat way too much. Sometimes my sister and brother-in-law that lived close by would come too. Mom had a cousin that raised turkeys, and one year he came for dinner and had a truckload of caged live turkeys. I took my young niece and nephew out so they could see the turkeys. They enjoyed that.
When we were with Dad's family, we either ate at our house, or one of my aunts or uncle's houses that had plenty of space, even for a kids table. My cousins and I would always pester each other while the women got dinner on the table, asking us to help when needed. The men sat and talked and waited to eat. Sometimes the women would pass on recipes that were liked by everyone. No one was a bad cook, but I remember my cousins saying they liked coming to our house because "Aunt Marilyn was a good cook." It was like a big potluck, and they would talk on the phone to get a head count, and to see who wanted to bring what. I even had Thanksgiving at my house one year. Mom, Dad, one of his sister's and her husband and their oldest son came. Everyone else had other plans. Since Mom and Grandma taught me to cook, no one got sick, and everyone enjoyed the meal. Those times are gone now, the aunts, uncles, and even some of the cousins are gone. Those left are spread everywhere, and some of the main cooks are too elderly to do all that now. But it's nice to have memories.
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