Weight Loss Surgery Forums

The Empty Chair
by Tammy J. Colter, Editor-In-Chief, OH Magazine

The traditional holiday foods were always lovingly cooked, carefully placed, and delicately decorating the family table each Thanksgiving; turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, squash and green beans…and in my family, tomato bisque.
 

Often times, there would be an empty chair at the table. Dad started the tradition. He served in the military for most of his life and would miss many holidays with the family. He was in Vietnam, Korea, or on another training mission more times than not during the holidays when we were younger, and we spent many holidays worried about his safety. As the years went by, my sister and brother inherited his desire to serve our country, and I was living out my Hollywood dreams thousands of miles away, so the holiday empty chair syndrome continued throughout most of the years. But I remember one year in particular, when we all made our way back to Maine for Thanksgiving and it is a memory I will always treasure.
 

The day before Thanksgiving, one by one, we all trickled into my parents' country home from different parts of the country. Some of us had not seen each other for a few years and we were especially excited to be together again. I felt like a kid; so happy to be waking up to the aroma of turkey and apple pie and a noisy family filled home. We shared old memories, teased one another, and created new memories as a family. The wood stove was burning and from the windows of the home my parents built with their own hands, we watched the first snow of the year gently fall from the sky as we gathered around the table to enjoy our Thanksgiving feast. We were thankful to be together, and to know that our military family members were safe this Thanksgiving day. It was a perfect Thanksgiving, a memory I will always hold close to my heart… because there was not an empty chair.
 

We asked OH members: What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory? Share in their memories below…
 

We always had Thanksgiving with lots of family around, sitting at long tables made from doors placed on supports, covered with Grandmother’s table cloths, and lit tapers for decorations. Mom insisted that there were always whole midget sweet pickles and black olives on the table, and she got up at the crack of dawn to stuff the bird. We’d wake to the smell of turkey roasting and have a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs and toast together before the relatives arrived about noon. The women were in the kitchen peeling potatoes and cooking up a storm, with fresh baked pies someone brought, and homemade dinner rolls with real butter. No margarine was allowed. We’d all gather around the table and say grace before our meal, with heads bowed, and the expectation of a hearty, delicious meal. All dressed up, no detail spared, it was a time of gracious living and manners. And the memories come back every year to savor once again.-Leanne R.
 

Thanksgiving was the only time that all the family got together, everybody was there from the oldest to the youngest. Just being surrounded by family always was my favorite memory of Thanksgiving. -dorothy53
 

There are so many fond Thanksgiving memories. Most center around the turkey. Every year, my dad would carve the bird and say, “Who wants the part that went over the fence last?? It never got old. I also remember one year when my dad complained about something on the menu which my mom worked so hard to prepare. So she poured a bag of flour over his head! I think even he laughed. -hercules411
 

It was my first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner, my first Thanksgiving after I married and my first Thanksgiving with my new in-laws. I was so incredibly nervous and of course wanted everything to be perfect. My sister-in-law’s daughter was a colicky baby and cried incessantly and vehemently for hours. We had military friends show up unexpectedly and there was a severe rain storm so we could not spill over outside from our very small house and the storm had knocked out the cable so the football game was on hold. As I was basting the turkey for the final time, the metal rack in the oven became stuck and in frustration, I snatched on it pretty hard and when I did the roasting pan flew out of the oven and the turkey went sliding across the kitchen floor landing at the feet of my mother-in-law who had just walked into the kitchen. I was mortified. In split seconds several scenarios went through my mind, all of them including my demise, whether by going through the floor or running away and catching an 18 wheeler going anywhere. I looked at my mother-in-law. She looked at me then bent down, picked up the turkey, rinsed it off, spiced it up, put it on the platter and shortly thereafter we all settled into one of the best Thanksgiving meals ever. I got many compliments on my turkey that day and my M-I-L never mentioned the “mishap? and neither did I. – Georgia Pink
 

Take a walk down memory lane! To read more OH member Thanksgiving memories click here. Share your favorite Thanksgiving memories in the message board thread or in the comments section below.