When discussing my blog posting strategy for November, my husband suggested that I incorporate things for which I am thankful along with recipes for your Thanksgiving feast. This past year has been one of the most challenging of my life and it’s easy to lose sight of how lucky I am. I decided to take his suggestion to heart. For the next four weeks I will be dedicating each post to one thing that I am truly thankful for. This week, I present you with:
Family.
I am fully aware of how cliche this one is. Everyone is thankful for their family, right? So what makes mine different?
These past 2 years have been hard. I turned 40. We moved into this great new house, but to a town away from some of my closest friendships. I have lost friends and family members, jobs, and what sometimes feels like my mind. I have made a lot of difficult choices and career changes. Events I witnessed, even tangentially, left me mentally crossing myself and thinking “There but for the grace of God, go I.”
The events of the past year have triggered old traumas and left me feeling hollow and sometimes very lonely, but I am never really alone.
My husband.
Even when I struggle, my husband lifts me up. Not always in the way I want him to, but he always holds down the fort so that I can take a break. Had I known when I met him at 15 that he was going to be so amazing, I might’ve tried to marry him a lot sooner which would’ve undoubtedly scared him away. As it was, I had to throw myself at him pretty obviously before he got it.
My kids.
I don’t think I could ever be alone with them around. They are almost always close enough to touch when I am home. They command that I pay attention to them and praise their accomplishments. They tell me jokes to make me laugh. My oldest brings me coffee every morning and is a willing helper (unless it’s dishes). My middle child tells me secrets, both his own and secrets of the universe. The girl is pure glitter. Individually, they are remarkable creatures. Together, they are a mighty force. They are stabilizing, but rock my world and challenge my beliefs. They dare me to be better than I know how to be and take me into scary places. They force me to confront every single thing I am afraid of so that I can comfort them when everything becomes too much for them.
My siblings.
The best part about having siblings is having people that have been there with you through all of it. My brothers and sister were with me when my mom couldn’t be. We plotted and schemed together. Having siblings is kind of like being a part of a secret club. It’s those relationships that help prepare you for every other relationship in your life. We have not always gotten along. I have the battle scars to prove it (like on my elbow where a fork thrown across the table embedded itself.) But we’ve all grown up to be pretty good friends. We can still laugh about mom getting her feet caught in the clothesline and we all know the answer when we are asked what Boba Fett smelled like. They are all gifted humans with a large capacity for empathy.
My parents.
My stepdad is my dad of the heart. I didn’t know him until I was all grown up, but it didn’t stop me from growing up to be like him, especially as it comes to business. And best of all, he makes my mom happy.
When I was about half the age I am now, I had a fight with my mom about inconsequential things that seem very important when you are an emerging adult. In the 6 weeks where I didn’t talk to her after that I realized that it was up to me to make the relationship to be what I wanted it to be. Family is a constant. They are the people you are supposed to lean on when things get hard. They are biologically programmed to love you no matter what. And really, thank goodness or most of us would not survive our teenage years. Had I fulfilled my adolescent promises of never talking to my mom again, I would’ve missed out on one the most important relationships of my life.
My grandparents.
If you’ve read anything of mine prior to this, you know about my amazing grandma. Here are pictures of her holding my mom, me, and my daughter.
I scanned through my old pictures today and found pictures of my grandpa with my children. I am thankful that they all got a chance to know each other. The support and joy he has given me over the years has helped me stand strong through difficult times. He is my own real life Santa.
My great-grandparents.
Without them none of this would be happening. Besides, check out how cute they were on their 50th anniversary. If you look closely at the tree beside the cake, you can see my mom and her siblings and cousins.
And this doesn’t even begin to touch on in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Part of my intention in starting this blog was to make sure that they would all have access to the treasure I got from great-grandma. I was afraid that taking this treasure offered by my grandma, I was potentially taking something away from everyone else. It seemed unfair that I was lucky enough to get this important piece of our family history. I decided I needed to share it. Which is how we ended up here. Me, thankful to all of them for allowing me to take great-grandma’s recipes and share them.
If you are cooking this Thanksgiving, take a minute as you are rolling up these butterhorns and remember your family. Wrap good intentions, forgiveness, and love inside each one. 
And for the love of all things sacred, use butter instead of shortening. They are called butterhorns for a reason. Smears of homemade jam do not cover up the inferiority of shortening.
The Recipe:
Butterhorns
1 TB yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 1/2-5 cups flour
Mix. Let rise. Shape. Rise again. Bake 20 minutes at 425°. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.
If you liked this post and want to see what I made last Thanksgiving, check out: Whiskey Slush, Champion Apple Pie, Cherry Meringue Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Food Roadtrip: Honey and Cinnamon Candied Yams.
