Over the River and Through the Woods

Over the River and Through the Woods

By Lydia Maria Child

Over the river, and through the wood,

To Grandfather's house we go;

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh

through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood—

Oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes and bites the nose

As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,

To have a first-rate play.

Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding",

Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood

Trot fast, my dapple-gray!

Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,

For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood—

And straight through the barnyard gate,

We seem to go extremely slow,

It is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood—

Now Grandmother's cap I spy!

Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?

Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

     This was a song that I learned in Mrs. Ellis' music class when I was in elementary school.  I have always loved the holidays, but especially Thanksgiving.  When I think about Thanksgiving the person that comes immediately to my mind is my Meem - Mom.  She was my grandmother and she made our holidays very special.  When I was a tiny little girl, one of my first Thanksgiving memories is being in her big farm house with her, my mom & dad and my great grandfather.  My Aunt Candy was living in Atlanta at the time.  She and her husband Pat drove for hours with their cocker spaniel Nicki so they could be with all of us for the holiday.  The majority of my Thanksgiving memories are of her little house in town and how the whole family, many years later, would pack into that tiny little dining room to share dinner.  Those would be the years that my younger cousins would remember.  The thing that never changed though, was how good her little house smelled when she cooked the turkey.
      When I was a little older I always got to spend the night with Meem the night before Thanksgiving.  She taught me how to make a roasted turkey.  I still do it the way she showed me all those years ago.  It still turns out perfect every time.  I remember, as a teenager,  helping her with dinner.  In my mind, since I was her right hand helper,  I was entitled to the crispy skin when the turkey was was fresh from the oven.  However my mom and my Aunt Candy thought otherwise.  It was always good natured fun elbowing for room around that turkey roasting pan to get that first taste.   My Meem was a good sport though, and she would just laugh and let us go at it.  She was a tiny little thing, and honestly, I think she was smart enough to stay out of that fray!  Turkey skin was a serious delicacy.  To this day it's my favorite part of the bird.  Only now I have to fight off my darling daughter.  Kaysie loves that first sweet taste of freshly roasted turkey too.  
      When I think of those Thanksgivings in my grandmother's tiny little house it takes me back to a wonderful happy time.  There were always people at Thanksgiving who weren't members of our family, but my grandmother included them so they wouldn't be alone on a holiday.  There were stories told after dinner of us kids, mostly of me, when I was really little, and then one year, the torch was passed.  It was passed to my cousin Charlie who is now the King of the Castle Kitchen at Disney World.  My grandmother had friends who were a childless couple.  They loved us kids dearly.  They were always at our Thanksgiving dinner.  My cousin Charlie was about 4 years old and very precocious.  We were getting ready for desert when he got a hold of a can of Ready-Whip whipped cream.  When my Aunt finally got a hold of him there was whipped cream everywhere!  Including all over Uncle Vernon and his glasses.  It was so funny.  Here was this dapper older gentleman covered in Ready-Whip.  We have laughed about that ever since.  It's one of my favorite memories.  Every time I see a can of Ready-Whip it makes me smile.
      My grandmother knew how to make everyone feel so special and she loved having a houseful of people.  I wish Kaysie and her cousins could have known her.  They would have adored her as much as my cousins and I did.  She's everyplace in my house though.  I have lots of her kitchen utensils and bowls.  Her canisters sit on my kitchen counter.  I have the bowl she made her world famous iced tea in, her potato pot & masher and that turkey roasting pan.  I think that's one of the reasons why I love my little kitchen, because always in my mind,  she's right there beside me when I cook.  There's not a Thanksgiving that goes by that I don't think of her and that tiny little house full of people.   Here's to perfect turkeys!  Cheers!