My Peronal Thaksgiving

Right when I opened the white wood door with the pretty golden knob, I knew that the day was going to be great! I kicked off my black buckled shoes and hurried into the hustle and bustle of three generations of my family gathered together at one of my Aunt's house for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Even my grandfather who has Alzheimer's came for the celebration.  I soon got welcomed by family and friends. I greeted all eight of my cousins, even my cousin Natalya who attends the Naval Academy flew into town.  It's almost rare that all of us come together like that, but we make the time at least three times a year.
         Since there was nothing much to do, I decided to watch the grown ups prepare the big Thanksgiving feast.  I watched as I saw the cranberries fall into the bowl like blood-red raindrops falling from the sky.  I felt the warmth of the rice cooker as they lifted the lid and placed the snow-white rice onto our plates.  It is a tradition for our family to eat rice with our turkey.  It tastes the best with gravy on it!  It also is a tradition that the older kids (ages 8 - 18) serve adults first, and then themselves.  I used to hate that process, but now I'm pretty used to it.  Placemat went to plate as I grab a neatly served dish with the appetizers on it and consulted my parents on who to serve first.  Soon the parents called their younger children in to eat.  I heard the clinking of cups as the guests toasted each other in welcome of the new Thanksgiving year. After all that was done, I settled with my own dish of appetizers and sat down to wait for the main course. 
I have to tell you something though. I am a very picky eater.  If foods aren't exactly how I like it, I wouldn't want to eat it.  Yeah, it seems like I'm a brat, but I'm not.  I'm just a picky eater.

          Soon I heard the creak of the oven and knew the turkey was almost on its way out.  But before that, other food came in.  I smelled the warm, crisp, scent of it and wondered what it would be like, to be a pilgrim back in who-knows-when, eating like there's no tomorrow. And then the turkey finally came. They bring it in and it's such an elegant brown, like the falling autumn leaves.  It was so beautiful, I wanted to gobble it up right away.  Then came the jubilant noise of people everywhere when a new dish was served.  We passed the dishes along like we always do.  I grab the cornbread and place it on my plate.  Am I hungry or what!  The crumbly cornbread was such a golden yellow, like the sun's rays. I tasted the sandy feel of the cornbread as it entered my mouth.  I poured the mud-brown gravy on my turkey and my rice  I reached for the cranberries. I felt the burst of sour -tangy-sweet flavor as I bit into them.  I tasted the warm, smooth fell as the mashed potatoes went into my mouth.  I stared at astonishment at how beautifully designed the pickled vegetables were.  It was basically like a flower.  I don't like pickled vegetables, but I liked the pretty design that my grandmother made of it. 
         The sweet potatoes and yams, with such a golden brown/orange, they really look like autumn, buttered corn, beans, turkey dressing, blue berry muffins, and homemade salad with a whole lot of extra fruits, vegetables, and a whole lot of boosting healthy greens. Can you imagine that all of this food got passed around a table?  I chose the beautiful buttery corn and golden muffins with ocean-blue blueberries placed into each corner.  I ate pretty slowly.  You'd think that I would be trying to savor the meal, but actually, that's how slow I eat. No, I'm not kidding. No, I'm not playing a joke.  It's the general truth.
The time between dinner and dessert is the time for us kids to be having our fun night out.  You see, the grownups in my family take too long of a time eating so us kids will be taking advantage of that and having some fun.  The little ones will be playing with us too, so we have to make our games four, five, and six-year-old friendly.  Mainly it's a small, friendly game of tag or hide-and-seek. 
         Soon the grownups finally stop talking and realize that dessert is ready.  I saw the unfurling of the pies. Of course, I brought the apple pie my mom and I make together for every Thanksgiving.  Mmm. I almost ate it all myself.  There was sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie, cheesecake and much more! It was so hard to choose one, each was like a color of the rainbow.  Actually not, like I told you before, I am a very picky eater. Especially on dessert. As much as the sweet potato pie looks all creamy and delicious, I don't like sweet potatoes.  And I've never cared much for food made of pumpkins.  Banana cream already sounds a little… not me.  And I don't like cheesecake at all.  Since apple is my favorite pie, I chose a thin slice to go on my plate. No whipped cream just vanilla ice cream (without the vanilla beans flecks) in a separate dish. (Ice cream and pie must never touch. It would make the pie crust all soggy and the apples all ice cream-flavory.)  I tasted the sweetness on my tongue when I bit into the apple pie.  It was delicious. All the cinnamon and the sweetness and the tanginess of the tart and sweet apples we always use.
         Then my grandma made and passed out the dorayaki, a small pancake filled with azuki, sweet red beans. I of course chose the one without the beans, they are just too sweet and ruin the great flavor of the pancake. (Again, rise of the picky eater!) Most people find it bland, but just like I like eating cupcakes without the frosting, I like eating dorayaki without the sweet azuki beans.  The pancake is delicious, just like a normal pancake you eat for breakfast.  Except smaller of course.
Then the parents ruin our evening by saying everyone has to go home. I am always the first one to leave.  This is the part I don't like. My parents give me the you-need-ten-hours-of-sleep-every-day speech (which I've never gotten).  By then everyone is hugging and saying, “Thank you and Good Night.” Then our family has a 'thinking-what-I'm-thankful-about' moment before we leave and I think that I'm thankful to have so many cousins the same age as me that I can play with and have fun with.  I also add that I'm thankful to parents and grandparents, the variety of delicious foods, a warm house, and teachers.  After that, we did finally leave and took a lot of leftover food home. Yum, maybe I might sneak a little bit of apple pie.  Don't tell anyone though! (Especially my dog, he'll want some!)