The Holiday Grand Plan

To my mom, the first of September signified more than my birthday. On this day, she would sit down at the dining room table and begin planning for the holidays using The Holiday Grand Plan. I'm not sure if this was a Martha project or from one of her many holiday celebration books or from a random website. In fact, it may have been a collaborative effort with the Hoosier Stitchers. Either way, it was a crummy way for a teenager to celebrate her birthday.

Of course, the Grand Plan began at the entrances of the house. She scrubbed the foyer fervently with hopes of celebrating the most wonderful Holidays. She would request wish lists for Christmas weeks in advance, and naturally, my mom would begin finding and fine-tuning recipes for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Last weekend as I perused my mom's vast supply of old and new recipes, I found last year's Thanksgiving menu. In her funny way, my mom always wrote in all caps to emphasize formality.

APPETIZERS	ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP	CROCK POT
DRINKS	COFFEE, REGULAR + DECAF, SUGAR HALF + HALF, SW + LOW	COFFEE CUPS, SPOONS
	SPARKLING PEAR + CRANBERRY COCKTAIL
	SODA + ICE
MAIN DISHES	TURKEY (S)
	SWEET POTATOES + PARSNIPS
	CRANBERRY/NUT/SAUSAGE STUFFING
	THANKSGIVING KAMUT
	CRANBERRY SAUCE
DESSERTS	APPLE CRANBERRY CRISP
	COOKIES
	PUMPKIN PIE

I won't be making any grand plans in the next few weeks, and I don’t know what this year’s Thanksgiving will entail. Frankly, I'm worried that our glue is gone. She synced our schedules and prepared the most delicious foods. It is sad to recognize that none of us will be able to match her enthusiasm, although she'd love to know we are celebrating. For the time being, I will be focusing on staying sane and continuing to stay in contact with my family.