On this day before Thanksgiving, I once again find myself overcome by memories past, back to the days of my youth. Thanksgiving Eves past – is there such an event as Thanksgiving Eve? – give me remembrances of anxiety and mayhem galore. That was driven by my Mom’s task of preparing the turkey, dressing and gravy for our family Thanksgiving get-together. How it came to be that she was the turkey and dressing and gravy guru of the family, I haven’t a clue. All I know is that Mama and her Mom, my Granny Aiken, would get together in the kitchen and start the process. It was most likely that Granny had taught Mama how to make the dressing and gravy. But it was a given that it would be Mama who would put those parts of the feast together, especially the dressing and gravy.

The entire family absolutely loved Mama’s dressing. That being so, Mama was so worried about preparing it. In the days leading up to cooking time, she would be in a total tizzy, worrying ahead of time about making it, constantly talking about it and wondering if everything would come out right before even starting. As a little kid, it got on my nerves for I couldn’t understand what the big deal was all about. And even in later years, as a bigger kid, then an adult, it still got on my nerves, though by then I knew my mother’s persona better and kinda-sorta understood her inner turmoil of wanting so bad to succeed. But regardless of all the early concerns, not once was there an unsuccessful Thanksgiving dinner. Mama and Granny’s culinary magic always won the day and filled the family’s bellies with a scrumptious feast.

And though Mama is no longer with me, she did leave a legacy. Not only did she leave me the legacy of loving books, I have a little, blue index card box with her favorite recipes that she left behind. I’ve made use of many of them. Just the other day I made her chili, using the recipe on the index card labeled June’s Chili. There’s also one labeled Favorite Chili. And not for nothing, is it, it’s also one of my all-time faves!

She was big on desserts, and as a kid, it was always a delight when she made chocolate brownies, and I’m now the happy and lucky owner of that recipe along with her recipe for peanut butter brownies and cobblers, for which I always use blackberries.

But in going through all those index cards, I found the recipes for the dressing and gravy. The front of the index card has a recipe for 20 cups of dressing! But, for the huge family of grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, that amount was necessary. Fortunately, on the back of the card is a smaller recipe which I will one day attempt to make.

But, over the past few years, our Thanksgiving has been spent with my brother and sister-in-law, and she is an excellent cook. And for all I know, she may have gotten her dressing recipe from my Mama. Nonetheless, she is just as successful as my Mama always was, and I certainly look forward to the feast we will enjoy this Thanksgiving. And I’ll spend the rest of this day without hearing of any worries about how the dressing will turn out, though I surely do miss hearing Mama’s voice. But…I do wish all a very Happy Thanksgiving!