All Will Be Safely Gathered In

Welcome to our home at Thanksgiving.

Our kids and grandkids are set to arrive in a couple of hours. When they arrive, I will throw open the door and hug each one.

I have decked the halls for the holiday. Pheasants, hens, ducks of all sorts put us in mind of turkey and stuffing.

Outside the colors are still vibrant, but soon will fade.

Inside the bounty is gathered.

 A table is prepared for two tiny tots--both just 2 years old.

 When they arrive it will be nearly bedtime. I have made up mattresses on the floor,

 in every corner...

 in every nook,

for grown ups

and toddlers...

old folks and

 elementary school students...

 and their parents...

In our family, we share holidays. Every other year our kids and their spouses come for Thanksgiving. On opposite years, they come for Christmas. I love when it is our turn for Thanksgiving, because it brings back one of my earliest and favorite holiday memories. 

When I was a preschooler, we went to my paternal grandparent's farm. As some of the youngest cousins, it was a big deal when the teenage cousins let us play hide and seek with them in the barn. I still remember hiding quietly in the hayloft, holding my breath, waiting for whoever was "it" to find us!  

After that, we played Annie-Annie-Over, a game involving throwing a football over the smaller barn and racing around to catch whoever caught it on the other side before they could make to our side. The weathervane below came off that barn. It was given to me this year and hangs proudly over our back door, often reminding me of those kind older cousins, my wonderful grandparents, and that wonderful holiday so long ago.

Happy Thanksgiving to you. May you find someone to be kind to as well.