Lemons on Thanksgiving

Written by Michelle Shelton

November 25, 2022

Life gave us lemons this Thanksgiving. 

It started the Friday before when one of our boys woke up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach. The next day my husband had planned a birthday surprise for me. He found a babysitter and everything. Something special he knew I would love. A show in the theaters that would only be there for 1 week. We had to cancel. 

After 2 days without throwing up, we thought he was in the clear. We sent him back to school. We made it to the theater. We invited our niece to a sleepover Wednesday night. We were back to normal. Until we weren’t. 

Wednesday night, he threw up again. In the middle of the night, my niece threw up. And first thing Thanksgiving morning, another one of our boys threw up. Thanksgiving morning and, once again, we had to cancel our plans. 

We were supposed to go to my in-laws. We were supposed to bring potatoes and roasted cauliflower. We were supposed to see family and eat turkey together. 

But life gave us lemons this Thanksgiving. So we made lemon meringue pie. 

We stayed home to keep our germs to ourselves. We pieced together a meal with what we had on hand. We had chicken instead of turkey. We had mashed potatoes and gravy. We had Stove Top stuffing, canned green beans, and canned cranberries. We had homemade rolls and roasted yams. And best of all, we had homemade pumpkin and lemon meringue pies.

It wasn’t a fancy meal, but it was an abundant table. As we gathered at the table and gave a prayer of thanks, I felt more genuinely grateful than I ever remember feeling at Thanksgiving. Grateful for our abundance. Grateful that I could make this meal with what we already had on hand in our home. No emergency run to the store required. Grateful for the people that I get to go through this life with. Grateful for the people who I get to be stuck at home sick with. Truly grateful.

Not everyone is so fortunate to have a cupboard full of food for last minute plans. Not everyone is so fortunate to have enough food to fill hungry stomachs day to day. I hope this holiday season you will join me in sharing your abundance by donating to your local food banks and other organizations that provide critical food supplies to our friends and fellow travelers in need.