Thanksgiving blessings to all

        I was around age 7 when I asked my mom if she would cook me a turkey for Thanksgiving. Most years, my family enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at my grandparent’s house on my mom’s side of the family.
        But not that year.
        Mom cooked a tasty butterball with all the fixings, which included dressing.
        I didn’t want any dressing, just turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and rolls.
        My mom made it anyway and I had to eat a big heaping spoonful of dressing.
      I sat at the kitchen table struggling to eat a spoonful of dressing. What should have taken 5 minutes or less, took more than two, maybe three hours.
        My mom was insistent that I eat the dressing, all of it. And everything else on my plate.
        I recall her saying, “You wanted a turkey meal and you are going to eat it.”
        Some 50 plus years later, I’m still not a fan of dressing.
        I loved my mom’s cooking, but I never cared for her dressing.
        It had a different taste about it. I admit it, the dressing at school lunches tasted better.
        I still don’t eat dressing, but I have enjoyed many Thanksgiving and holiday meals through the years.
       There’s nothing better than a plateful of Thanksgiving blessings, a Dallas Cowboys game on the television and time spent visiting and catching up.
       From 1987 – 1991, my brother, Tom, and I would make the trek from Tulsa to Dallas on Thanksgiving Day to watch the Cowboys play at the now former Texas Stadium. We made lots of great memories.
       I remember 1992 which was my first Thanksgiving after leaving Tulsa in August of that year to return to college at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
       Mom and Dad, along with my aunt Alice and cousin, Ronnie, from near Fayetteville, Ark., came for the Thanksgiving weekend at my duplex apartment in Ashland, Mo., a small community south of Columbia.
        I had to work some that weekend, but enjoyed having them there and eating several home cooked meals. And of course, having my folks clean my apartment for me.
         I don’t think I’ve ever missed a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal in the 64-years I have been on this earth.
         And this year is no different. I enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving meal with Debbie and my Iowa family this week.
       I don’t know what it means to do without. I’ve always had food on the table, a bed to sleep in, family, friends and many wonderful and blessed opportunities.
         I don’t ever recall going hungry or doing without any holiday or any day ever. My folks didn’t have much, but they made sure my brother and I had all the above mixed with lots of love.
         I know that there are many who struggle to purchase food and live on limited budgets or no budgets.
       I’m thankful for our area pantries and community outreaches who do so much to meet the needs of those in our area.
         And soon, the Salvation Army Bell Ringers will be out and about collecting donations to help others. Did you know that 90 cents of every dollar donated to the Salvation Army stays in Poweshiek County?
        If you can help in any way from volunteering to making a donation at a local organization, outreach or pantry, it will be a gift that keeps on giving all year long.
         Take time this year to do something good for others and thank God for the many blessings life has given you.
         Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.