A peaceful Thanksgiving

Most of us want Thanksgiving to be a happy, peaceful time when we gather together with the people we love to give thanks for our many blessings.  But family dynamics can sometimes get in the way of that - if we let them.

In Secrets in Storyville, when Kate's daughter, Mandy, announces her plan to do a family tree for a school project, Kate's parents and grandmother are against it. Kate doesn't understand why - but she's determined to find out. However, in order to have a peaceful Thanksgiving with her family, she decides to let them think she and Mandy have agreed to drop the project. Whatever it takes to keep the peace.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

Dad patted his stomach. “Gloria, you’ve outdone yourself this year. Everything was delicious, as always.” He raised his eyebrows. “But there was something different about your stuffing.”

“I added mushrooms this year.”

He reached across the table and patted her hand. “Well, it was the best I’ve ever tasted.”

My mother actually blushed. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She stood up. “Is anyone ready for pumpkin pie?”

We all shook our heads.

I laughed. “I’d love some but it’ll have to wait till later. If I have another bite, I won’t be able to get out of this chair. Thanks, Mom.”

One by one, we all pushed back our chairs and stood up. Dad, Gram and Mandy headed for the living room to watch TV. Mom and I cleared the dining room table, carrying the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cranberry into the kitchen.

It felt good to have things back to normal. Although I hated deceiving my parents, I was glad I’d decided to do it. I shuddered to think what Thanksgiving would’ve been like if they knew the truth about Mandy’s project.

“I’ll wrap up some of everything for you to take home,” Mom said. “That way, you won’t have to cook dinner tomorrow. How early do you have to be at work in the morning?”

I sighed. “Five o’clock. It keeps getting earlier every year. I’d like to shoot whoever invented Black Friday.”

“Well, it’ll be over before you know it. At least it’s only once a year.”

Easy for you to say, I thought. You’ll be snuggled up in your warm bed. But, of course, I didn’t say that. Instead, I asked her, “Do you want to wash or dry?”

I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving!