Thanksgiving memories

November 1973. Buddy and I have been married since July, still newlyweds. We are living at Tumbling Waters, the name given to the mountain cabin on the stream built by Buddy's dad. The little one room cabin started out in the 50s as a place to get away to on weekends, to bring friends, family, church groups, to play in the stream, hike the mountains, get away from their home in Atlanta. Since its humble beginnings, the little cabin had grown outwards and upwards. The second story had a proposed huge great room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen and dining room. At this time in 1973, the only finished rooms upstairs were the bedroom we were staying in, one bath, kitchen, and dining room (all of these rooms hurriedly finished before our wedding so we could move in). Since carpentry runs in the family, all of this work was done by family and friends, mostly on weekends. Since getting married, Buddy has been working full-time for his dad on finishing the house, in anticipation of their someday retiring, selling the house in Atlanta, and moving to the mountains.

It is Thanksgiving morning, we wake up to the smells of turkey in the oven and Inez (Buddy's mom) in the kitchen. She is fixing Thanksgiving dinner, a thing she rarely does, as she and Felton were married on Thanksgiving day way back in 1937, and traditionally they get away for the 4-day weekend. But not this year! Inez is cooking! She is the best cook I have ever known and when she is here on weekends I try to learn some of her secrets. Two-Mama is here, of course. (Two-Mama is the name given Buddy's grandmother who has lived with his parents forever, who did the cooking and child care while his mom worked, the second mama, hence the name). Buddy has 2 sisters. The oldest is Kay - age 31, living alone in her own little mountain cabin with her one dog and one cat. The middle child is Sue, age 28, married to Alan, with cute little baby girl Jenny. They are all coming today for dinner. There is an underlying current of excitement in the air, it’s the holiday, Inez is cooking, but there is something more. Kay is bringing a feller to dinner! Inez is so excited. The rest of us cannot believe it. She doesn't even know any fellers, much less bring one to Thanksgiving dinner to meet the family! Inez knows more than she is telling, I think. So that is why they cancelled their anniversary trip this year.

We are all sitting around the table, a delicious meal as always. We have met the new man, Kennon, a very tall, very quiet guy, who looks a little nervous, probably wondering why did I agree to come today? So far all we know is that they just met in October, and he lives a few miles from her. We are thinking, okay, this is great! Kay has a boyfriend, good for her. But then, good thing we were all sitting down, she whips out this small box containing 2 wedding bands, and announces they are getting married in December, at Christmas, here at Tumbling Waters. WOW! I wonder what was going through everyone's heads at that moment? I know what Felton and Buddy were thinking - here? The house is not finished yet! That began the whirlwind flurry of construction and wedding planning that lasted a month.

So Kay and Kennon got married at Christmas 1973. We have all been great friends over the years. We started our families at the same time, with our firstborn children being 2 weeks apart, and our second children being a few months apart. We have spent vacations together, camping and hiking.

This year, as is the tradition in our family, Kay and Kennon will be coming for Thanksgiving dinner. We always remember Inez and Felton for their anniversary. We always have a good time, catching up on things going on in our lives, but we have never matched the excitement felt that Thanksgiving in 1973.