Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Old Fashioned Thanksgiving

thanksgiving38
Good morning everyone! I have quite a few things to accomplish today. I need to pick up a few things at the grocery store, finish my garland and fabric balls, get the stuffing ready, make up a few dishes tonight, clean the house, etc, etc. But I'm sure that everyone can relate to that! So I will be a little scarce today and tomorrow. May everyone have a marvelous Thanksgiving (or Thursday for that matter, if you're outside of the states) and may you be enriched by the blessings of our Lord.

The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving
(Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959)

It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell
Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;
But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know
A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,
When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,
With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,
The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,
With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.

It may be I'm old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day
We're too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;
Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;
It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.
It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;
There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,
Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,
Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.

I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad
To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;
The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,
And whether living far or near they all came trooping in
With shouts of "Hello, daddy!" as they fairly stormed the place
And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face
Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,
Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small.

Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told;
From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we'd gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly--
It seemed before we'd settled down 'twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true


Blessing of the day: I'm blessed to have a million things to do for Thanksgiving. Because that means I have family visiting, good food for our bellies and a warm house.

38 comments:

Heidi said...

May you have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving Day with your family dear Julie!

~~ Heidi ~~

Anita said...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Julie!!

Elle Jay Bee said...

Happy Thanksgiving Julie! I love your daily blessing...you have struck the nail on the head!! I also love the new song (O Holy night...one of my faves).

Enjoy your family and all the delicious food!!

Linda
xoxo

Supermom said...

You too Julie. I'll be a little scant myself over the next few days.

Alice said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Julie!

Mary said...

Dear Julie, Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!
xoxo,
Mary

Karen H. said...

Good Morning Julie,
Oh yes, my friend, I can so relate to all this. I have already posted and out visiting before I start all my stuff. I want to wish you and yours a "HAPPY THANKSGIVING" also. If you have time today, stop by. I have something for all my blogging friends. I hope you will like it. Take care my friend and have a great Wednesday. God Bless You and Yours.

Hugs,
Karen H.

PAT said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Julie!

Pat

FarmHouse Style said...

Oh, Julie, those are exactly the kinds of Thanksgivings I grew-up with:)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving my dear!

Love ya,
Rhonda

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

Glad you're feeling better! We're getting ready to go to my dad's for thanksgiving...I'm pretty excited about it. But, since my husband is working today and my son is working tonight, we won't be able to leave until tomorrow morning. At least we'll have turkey waiting for us at the end of the trip, though!
I hope you and yours have a wonderful, wonderful Thanksgiving! Post pictures!

From the Doghouse said...

Don't know if I'll be able to drop by either, so I hope you have a fantastic day on Thursday and that you're able to keep the Thanks in Thanksgiving!

Nan said...

Happy Thanksgiving!
Nan

BittersweetPunkin said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you Julie!
Love,
Robin

Dena said...

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving dear Julie.

Huge hugs,
Dena

Anonymous said...

God bless you, Julie, and your precious family!

xo,
Melissa

Bethany said...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Julie!! I'm thankful for your friendship! Love from Lancaster ~ xoxo Bethany

Emily said...

Happy Thanksgiving Julie!

Nancy said...

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Julie. Thanks again for the nice comments on my blog. I am having a busy baking day today.

Distant Timbers Echo said...

Good luck, Happy Thanksgiving and I'm glad the migraine is over!

:)

Rosemary said...

Julie,
You and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Rosemary

Anonymous said...

Have a lovely Thanksgiving. When you can, come get your award. :)
Alexandra

rosemary said...

Happy Thanksgiving Julie to you and your family.

Cottage Contessa said...

Lovely post Julie! I hope you are over the migraine sweetie. Have a wonderfully safe, happy & healthy Thanksgiving.
Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)

Vee said...

Yes, we can all be grateful that we're going to be weary tonight after a day of busy preparations. How terrible it would be if we had no preparations to make. Have a marvelous Thanksgiving!

Sling said...

May the Lord bless you and keep you julie.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Justabeachkat said...

Happy Happy Thanksgiving Sweet Friend!

Hugs!
Kat

Cris said...

Julie, have a blessed Thanksgiving! Love, xoxoxxo

Supermom said...

Happy Thanksgiving, today!!

Unknown said...

Happy Thanksgiving Julie! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

Have a blessed and Happy day.

Carole Burant said...

May today and every day be blessed with simple, quiet moments of thanksgiving!! Happy Thanksgiving to my dear American friends from across the border:-) xoxo

Rebecca E. Parsons/Cre8Tiva said...

...happy thanksgiving my friend, rebecca

bj said...

Thank you and I hope your holiday was just wonderful.
bj

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your family, Julie.

Kate

Anonymous said...

Hey sweet friend

I have been unable to visit and I am late but Happy Thanksgiving and I hope it was a wonderful day for you

HUGS BLESSINGS LOVE

Naturegirl said...

Julie wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving! Hugs NG

Cynthia said...

Julie,
I hope you and your family had a lovely Thanksgiving. I wanted to let you know that the Christmas tree arrived safely and it's absolutely beautiful. Enjoy your day!
Cynthia

Unknown said...

Hi Julie!

I love poetry: reading and writing it. I have never seen this poem! How poignant and true!

Thanks for sharing!
KJ