Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanks for the Spanx

We are revving up for the holiday season. Technically, it starts with wolfing down our kid’s Halloween candy under the guise of “protecting” them from poison Snickers bars. But we know the real truth. We don’t have to count those calories, it’s like eating dessert off our significant others plate right? So break out the spanx, food gluttony is upon us.



Growing up these meals were a major female family affair.  Mommy and my sister were large and in charge of anything involving taste buds. My job was peeling potatoes and being the general kitchen wench. In our early married lives my Sistah was forced to move to Texas for her job and all Thanksgiving Day we received pathetic phone calls regarding the recipe for stuffing, how long to cook a 16 pound bird, how much lemon in the hollandaise sauce.  Oh we were having a good laugh about her skills until it came time to make the gravy. Crap she’d always made the sauce, we had to call her all humble and have her talk us through all those tricky whisking steps.

I once single handily ruined Thanksgiving for my family by naming our supermarket butterball Stephanie and cooing encouragement to it. “That’s right Stephanie, you’re going to make someone an amazing dinner, what a good girl you are, such a moist baby”. It got me permanently banned from cooking Thanksgiving by making our dinner a little too personal forever.  This has resulted in my Sistah being that holiday hostel and the Tuna’s the destination for Santa.  Below is a turkey leftover casserole for your viewing pleasure.

Sour Cream Turkey Casserole
4 cups cubed turkey
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
½ slivered almonds
½ package Pepperidge Farm Herb Dressing Mix
1-1/2 cups chicken broth

Mix turkey, soup, sour cream and almonds well and pour into casserole dish. Mix dressing and broth together and pour on top of turkey mixture. Bake at 350 degrees covered for 45 minutes.  I usually pick up a few extra bags of Pepperidge Farm dressing this time of year. That way when I get a Thanksgiving craving in July I can substitute chicken, throw in a side of cranberry sauce and tah dah!

My mom died on Thanksgiving Day 2009. The hospital calling at 5 AM to ask if I wanted her put on a ventilator, that she had slipped into a coma. No I whispered, she was terminal, no hope, no wish to suffer more.  I drove to the hospital with my brother Pauly who flew in the night before to say goodbye. My Sistah arrived several hours later.  She told us she had to get the turkey in the oven, Mom would have expected it.  We spent the day telling laughing and wildly inappropriate stories about growing up. Our animated boisterous noise had the nurse in ICU close the door in order to stop disturbing other patients.  We took a break for a feast midday, eating food we were not hungry for, toasting her with special wine we’d saved. Returning to the hospital as evening fell and surrounded by family she took her final breath.

I will forever be grateful to Bebe, she invited my entire family to her house last year to share the day in our fragile condition. Tomorrow, we will return to our time honored tradition. We will always associate Thanksgiving with the day our mom passed away, but it is fitting. Since we will always be thankful to her for making us recognize the value of family and a wicked sense of humor. As I lift my glass in a toast I will see her familiar eyes in Sheldon’s face and realize that our love of her will live on in all of us. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

50 comments:

Ami said...

That was a lovely tribute to your mom... to have the meal, to laugh, to enjoy, and to think of her.

(((hugs))

Hope it's a good day.

Jo said...

A perfectly done remembrance. She will always be part of your Thanksgiving. My Grandmother passed on Thanksgiving also and it was her birthday. It is always mentioned and remembered with love at our gatherings. (((hugs))) Bring on the spanx.

The Zadge said...

Am sitting here with my mom in Delaware and raising a glass to you and yours! Big love!

Anonymous said...

Has it been 2 years already? What a lovely tribute. Your Mom was quite the character and I know how much you miss her. Will be thinking of you tomorrow.

Kimberly said...

What better tribute to your mom than to celebrate all of your blessings? None of which would've been possible without her! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

MOV said...

so sorry about your mom. you write about her beautifully.

happy thanksgiving.

MOV

Mary said...

Even though your mom was passing, I'm sure she was smiling as y'all reminisced and laughed about memories. That's what it's all about.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Sara said...

Hugs to y'all today. Enjoy all your blessings and all your memories.

Andrea said...

What a bittersweet and beautiful story. You deserve three extra pieces of pie at the vey least!

Jean | Delightful Repast said...

Now you've done it, Mrs. Tuna, gone and made me cry! Isn't it amazing just how very much we "women of a certain age" can miss our mommies! (Don't mention Spanx--bought one a year ago while shopping with a friend who was buying one and I STILL haven't worn it ... money down the drain!)

Irene said...

This is so touching. What a very meaningful Thanksgiving you have every year because of your mom's passing in 2009. Beautiful. Just beautiful. :-)

Sultan said...

I hope your holiday has gone well.

I am frightened to ask this, but what are spanx?

Ann Jones said...

Great post remembering your mom. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Hilary said...

What a beautiful post. It is so hard losing a parent, yet alone on a holiday....I so understand why thanksgiving will not be the same... Marc's mom had her Aneurism (which she passed from) on thanksgiving, and Marc's dad just passed away last week. It is such a difficult time for his family.... But, while hard, remember, every thanksgiving your mom is there with you in spirit

Kimberly said...

This is so beautiful.
I am so sorry that your mom had passed on Thanksgiving. I'm sure that she is glad that all of you get together and celebrate. I bet she's there laughing at Sistah and the bird

Janie Junebug said...

I'm sorry you miss your mom, but you made a very wise decision when you didn't put her on a ventilator. So what's the deal with Spanx? If you need to pee really bad, can you get them off in a hurry?

Love,
Lola

Unknown said...

Wishing you joy on this holiday weekend, and complimenting you on a lovely tribute to your mother. I just stopped by from Best Posts of the Week.

Hannah said...

I think it's hilarious that you named the turkey and talked to it then got banned from turkey duty. :)

betty-NZ said...

I never thought of personalizing a turkey! Thanks for the recipe!

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

oh my...this was amazing...I am so deeply sorry about your Mom but I thank her for your "wicked sense of humor" and your mad writing ability.

Of the 300+ blogs I follow, I believe that this post was my favorite.

(((((hugs)))))) and THANK YOU!

Ms. G said...

Oh, you gave me tears. The good kind though : )

Lisa said...

You are too funny, I think somebody must have mentioned it to you, but reading both your posts about Sheldon and your Mom leaves me with deep meaning of family and how life goes on.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

@Naddez ok this isn't my blog but I have to VENT.

How can you so insensitively ask someone to FOLLOW YOU and provide your blog link without even READING A WORD that the person has written?

If you had, you would KNOW that asking someone to follow you after they bare their heart and soul is BEYOND inappropriate.

At least leave a comment that shows that you even read a friggin sentence of the post. This is EXACTLY what I HATE about bloghops. The mindless individuals that have no concern for anyone other than themselves.

Some people's selfishness is BEYOND mind-boggling.

AiringMyLaundry said...

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

At this point, I am sick of turkey. We've had leftovers for 2 days. I'm done.

Jim said...

I think it's only fitting too that your Mom will always be at your Thanksgiving meal.....she was always such a part of it anyway! Great post! And thanks for dropping by today.

Angela Alpaugh said...

I love your blog! Proud to be your newest follower!

Sandra said...

This was lovely! I'm sorry for your loss, but love how you turned her life into a celebration...I know, I've become cheesy...what can I say, you wrote the perfect Thanksgiving post.

DB Stewart said...

Why are there no casserole fast food places?!

Liz Mays said...

I think I might have objected to your Thanksgiving ways also!

mamahasspoken said...

What a beautiful tribute to your mother! I too know personally what you are talking about except my holiday is Easter.

Jamie said...

This recipe sounds delicious! I can't wait to try it :)

Stopping by on a blog hop and now following. I hope you'll stop on over and consider following back!

Jamie
http://makingmamahappy.blogspot.com

Opal Stevens said...

Following from the Say Hi Sunday Hop! Would love a follow back:D

http://opalstevens.com

Marnie said...

You are a sweet daughter! Belated Happy Thanksgiving xo

XLMIC said...

What a GREAT post about Thanksgiving ... love so much how it isn't some big ass list of what you're thankful for :) Stephanie! LOL... LOVE that!

Romina Garcia said...

I love the idea of Thanksgiving. We don't have it in Australia and I often wonder why. Beautiful post :-)

Lisa Weidknecht said...

It's late Sunday night, but I'm finally finding time to hop with Lucy and Sam! I'm a follower!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm a new follower from the Say Hi Sunday Hop, http://babyfeetandpuppybreath.blogspot.com/
I also have a Monday Hop going on if you would like to join.
Hope you can stop by, say hi and follow back.
Have a great week.

This is an amazing post.

Erin Branscom said...

I am a new follower of your blog! :) Erin

Unknown said...

Oh, Mrs. Tuna, I'm so sorry. <3

Skylar Magazine said...

This is a really cute blog, great sense of humor. My name is Sarah, I just started following. I found your blog through the Let's Get Hoppin Monday hop and am following via GFC. I would love for you to stop by and follow back. Thanks and have an awesome day.

http://skylarinc.blogspot.com/

Lisa said...

I'm so sorry! I love how you all have managed to turn a sad day into a day of remembering happier times though.

I loved our anti-Thanksgiving this year (we went out for Greek food. Ha!), but I do miss the leftovers. I'm saving that recipe for next year...it sounds delicious!

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

OMG I am reading MORE comments and some of these Blog Hoppers just HAVE NO CLUE! I think I am gonna SCCCCCCCREEEAAAM!

Mrs. Tuna said...

Caren,
I do think some people are point and click. But those that read regularly know the real deal. Thanks all for the kind words about my mom passing. It is not a raw pain but something that makes my just tighten but is ruled out by warm memories.

Dawn

Paula said...

This made me cry, I'm so sorry about your mom. I hope your family had a lovely Thanksgiving.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

((((hugs)))))

I know they do :)

Nicki said...

If it had to happen on Thanksgiving...at least you were surrounded by the best people in the world: family.
Lovely, lovely tribute.

Ixy said...

Thank God for spanx alright!!

Anonymous said...

I love the "shout out" you gave to your mom! She must be really proud of you- especially because you are so witty and amazing! :) I must admit... I wouldn't survive the holidays without spanx!!!

I Wonder Wye said...

Spanx isn't working. Time to tug on a real old-fashioned girdle...ugh...

Alexandra said...

So beautiful.

And left me awestruck.

We have such different memories: didn't want to comment on this before b/c my memory of Thanksgiving is, well...forever made heavy by my father's death.

Whereas, yours is light.

That's beautiful..and I mean that in a good way.