Thanksgiving morning, started in a non-traditional way, on the patio with a cup of hot coffee drowning in flavored cream….slowly, quietly, prayerfully and not, too early. This was my first year ever to be calm and almost stress free during Thanksgiving.  However, it didn’t end without a Lucille Ball type moment to remind me, that I am not a celebrity chef and that I don’t need to win the taste test approval from my family. They already know… I can’t cook.

But seriously, my Mom is gone now, so who’s approval am I looking for?  We did things totally untraditional this year, and I snickered to myself thinking that if she could see us, she’d be mad! I did however, honor her and remember her warmly, by making two of her specialties; ham salad and deviled eggs. She would have balked though at the fact that the ham salad is always made at Christmas with the leftover ham not at Thanksgiving. I loved my mother dearly, and she loved to cook and was very good at it. She was not a cooking instructor, I learned a little as I watched her.

I enjoyed watching my mom and her sisters gather in the kitchen making holiday meals. Today, I can still hear their chatter and laughter as they each worked on a dish of something that was, always yummy. I also recall that achieving smooth gravy sometimes required a second attempt, and if you cut into a pie that didn’t stand up well, it didn’t make it taste any less delicious. Remembering these slight imperfections of the past, gave me a sense of calm.

Calm is good for a recovering perfectionist/control freak/tantrum thrower like me. Setting myself up for the day with prayer, good memories and cream laden coffee seems to have worked in keeping me calm. I stayed especially calm when the boiling hot pot of spaghetti sauce and meatballs slipped from my hands spilling onto the floor, splattering the area like a crime scene. Then something very non-traditional happened, my son and his wife graciously cleaned up the whole mess and he later said “it’s okay, we’re makin memories.”

Thankfully, Hubs started a new tradition of making meatloaf with our G’girl and it turned out very yummy.

How bout you?! Is there a certain someone whose approval you long to gain? Do you stress over perfection? Is it hard for you to remain calm when things go wrong?

If you are any of the above….I hope you’ll join me by setting yourself up for success in not letting people, or situations shake you but by starting each day slowly with prayer, quiet time and coffee. May we all KEEP CALM and THANKSGIVING ON! being grateful daily all year.

“Lord, we give thanks to you for your countless blessings. Keep us always improving on our relationship with you, as you work on improving us. Thank you also for these teaching moments in life, as well as the memory making moments in life. In Jesus name Amen.”