Thanksgiving in Canada

October 8, 2007

Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving. It is rather quiet here since no one was able to come for the holiday. That's okay, though. We know that it is difficult to get to visit with all of your family members when there are so many people wanting you to spend time with them. We have always been content to see our children whenever they are able to visit, whether or not it is on a particular holiday.

Yesterday we were able to spend most of the day in Strathroy with Maynard (Arend's brother) and Susan and their family. It has become a tradition for us to go to Strathroy for Thanksgiving. It all started when all of our children were small and has continued into the next generation. Everyone brings a part of the meal, but Susan cooks the meat (turkey and ham this year), the potatoes and gravy, vegetables and apple sauce. The rest of us supply salads, desserts and sweets for coffee and tea times. Usually I take pecan pie and a seven layer vegetable salad. As usual we were completed sated by the end of the meal since there is ever so much food available! You certainly don't leave there hungry!

After dinner the 20 people present each stated what he or she was thankful for this year. It was quite interesting to hear what each person had to say. Perhaps the nicest one was what my dad said...that he was thankful that I had married into such a nice family. He is not the only one! I am always thankful for the Smids; they have treated me like one of them from the moment I first met Maynard and Susan on December 31, 1971 - six months before Arend and I married.

The one disappointment yesterday was that John, Nadia and Noah couldn't be with us. They had started out on their way to Strathroy, but realized about 45 minutes into the trip that Noah was too sick for any of them to really enjoy themselves. As a result, they called and said that they were going back home. When I talked to John later on in the afternoon, I could hearing Noah fussing in the background and could tell that he wasn't feeling 100%. Poor little guy.