Family for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a very special time to me. Every year my family and I go to my grandparents’ house. My grandma is the world’s best cook, and that is no understatement. I am confident she can make anything. Thanksgiving has also brought my grandma and me closer together.

It happened about four years ago now. Thanksgiving morning we all woke up like normal. The night before my aunt had been complaining about having a stomach ache. When she woke up Thanksgiving morning she couldn’t move. She couldn’t straighten her legs out, and it was extremely painful for her to walk. Her husband, my parents as well as my papa took her to the hospital. There was something wrong with her intestines. The doctor said that what she had was probably inside of her since she was very young, but they were only then noticing it. They also said that if she had waited any longer than she did to come in then she could have died.

That year Thanksgiving had also fallen on my cousin’s twelfth birthday. She was in a constant state of panic and worry, because her mother was in the hospital and all of the adults had left. We  were also having extended family over for dinner. My grandma and I did all of the cooking and keeping the younger kids calm. We didn’t have a lot of news to tell them so it was hard to know what to say when they asked every half hour if we knew what their mom and aunt was sick with.

When the rest of the family got to my grandma’s house, they all wanted to know when the meal was going to be ready, and why there weren’t appetizers set out. They didn’t offer to help with anything, and were constantly adding to the headache by asking the same questions the kids were asking. Grandma and I managed to hold down the fort pretty well. We got dinner done on time and somehow were able to keep everyone, for the most part, pretty happy.

That year my grandma and I spent a lot of time together, and cooking with her was a very special time for me. My aunt survived and is doing great. My extended family is still quite self-absorbed. But my immediate family is closer together because of everything we went through. Spending time with my grandma that year showed me how important family is to me, and how thankful I am for my family.