In my family, Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. It is one of the few days a year where we saw my mothers paternal uncle. It is the only day that had an amazing parade that is worth getting up early for, and it is the only day where all the men in the family would gather in front of the television and bond over a football while the women would gather in the kitchen and cook and gossip. And we kids would dress up and would pose for pictures and wreck havoc at my mothers maternal aunt. One year, we decided to do something unique. Thanksgiving 1995, I was in the first grade, My older sister Victoria was in the second grade, and my younger sister Maggie was in Kindergarten, At my school, the first and second graders made special costumes and would join together to recreate the first thanksgiving. My class made pilgrim bonnets and hats and we made aprons and dress bibs. The second graders made Native American head dresses and dyed t- shirts and cut them to look like Native American outfits. I remember the day before Thanksgiving, we went dressed in our pilgrim attire and went into the second grade class room who were dressed in their Native American attire and we sat down and dined to popcorn, cookies, chips, and apple juice.
The next day, Victoria and I wanted to where our outfits to my Great Aunts for Thanksgiving. My mother said we could so I put on my Pilgrim outfit and Victoria put on her Native American outfit. But, there was a problem. Maggie's class didn't make anything special and she wanted to dress up too. Victoria remembered that she made a Turkey centerpiece in art class, so she got in and gave it to my mom. She cut a whole in the bottom of the centerpiece and placed it on Maggie's head and she went to Thanksgiving dinner as the turkey (my grandmother wasn't amused by this). We did our usual thing at my great aunts house, but I decided to do something new. I learned a song called Albuquerque Turkey. The song goes like this:
(to the tune of Clementine)
Albuquerque is a turkey
And he's feathered and he's fine
And he wobbles and he gobbles
and he's absolutely mine.
He's the best pet that you can get..
Better than a dog or cat.
He's my Albuquerque turkey
And I'm awfully proud of that.
And my turkey, Albuquerque
is so happy in his bed,
'Cause for our Thanksgiving dinner...
We had egg foo yong instead.
I taught that song to my family and my mother recently told me that I was so excited to be singing the song, I was dancing around the room while singing. Out Thanksgivings now consist of us going to my grandfathers and then going out to dinner and going back to my grandfathers for my homemade apple pie and birthday cake so we can celebrate my cousins birthday. The men still gather around the TV to watch football and I still get up early to watch the parade. THAT tradition will never end!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
