My Thanksgiving was split into two separate parts. I spent the early hours of the morning with the dogs at our property and i was invited to spend Thanksgiving with a friend and her family in a nearby town. I left for their place late in the morning. Pictured above are the girls reminding me that i spoke of them receiving turkey on this day if they were good. Being a pescatarian i did not immediately have some on hand. I had gone to the grocery deli and asked for two thick cut pieces of hickory-smoked turkey breast.
So i got up and let them out for the morning. I began breaking the slices into pieces and separating the pieces into two ziploc bags. The turkey would be spread out over the week to keep them from getting sick but they could have 4 or 5 pieces at a time.
They knew what i was doing before i even called them in. When i pulled the curtain to whistle for them they were already on the porch wagging their tails and licking their chops. They knew it was Thanksgiving. I had always given Sili boiled chicken or smoked turkey on holidays and now Cashew would be included in the tradition as well.
I let them in to the house. Both of them sat at attention next to the counter with anticipation in their eyes. I told them each Happy Thanksgiving and that i loved them and then i put one piece of turkey in each hand and fed them simultaneously. Cashew finished hers quickly each time, which i had known would happen compared to Sili’s careful precision movements to remove the turkey from my hand without so much as grazing my skin with her teeth. I used my knee to hold Cashew back as she attempted to reach the piece Sili was so delicately trying to remove from the palm of my hand. I was successful and Sili got her 5 pieces just as Cashew had hers, uninterrupted. Both dogs sat at my feet, delighted and begging for more. I said, “no, that’s enough. You’ll ruin your tummies.” They followed me around wherever i went that morning, sniffing my hands. Cashew sat beneath the refrigerator looking up. I made a mental note never to leave a towel hanging on the refrigerator door. Cashew might teach herself to open it.
I had the best most peaceful holiday of my life with my friend and her family. she had invited me the year before as well. I enjoyed their company and the wonderful grandchildren that ran about the place. They were thoughtful, compassionate, and peaceful people who seemed to enjoy each other’s company. I thanked the Lord for sending me such a friend that would let me be part of her holiday family gatherings. I felt very blessed. The year had been a good one, tumultuous as it was. The dogs were alive and i could still afford to keep them. The land was still in my name. The leak in the roof was fixed. I still had my job. And i had good friends whom i cherished.
That night i returned home smelling of my friend’s dog and both my dogs immediately came to sniff my shoes and pants legs. Sili’s tail began wagging as she recognized the familiar smells and realized where i’d been. Cashew was just happy the opener of the refrigerator had come back.