COLUMN: It's Just a Country State of Mind: Family traditions

There's something about the way the sky looks in November that sets one's heart to dream. Holidays, warm fires and snowflakes are soon to come.

November also brings overcast skies and cold winter winds to bear upon us inhabitants of the earth. It comes as a prelude to the bitter winter's cold, but it brings many warm and good things with its arrival. One of the best things that November brings is the holiday time of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a time when family traditions are once again brought into the forefront of our lives. Traditions are the practices and customs that are passed down from one generation to another.

Many families in America shared some common Thanksgiving traditions, such as serving turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving Day and watching football. Then there are other folks that march to the beat of a different drum and make their own traditions as they go along.

When I was a child, we went to my grandmother's house for Thanksgiving Day. She always had the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans and pumpkin pie.

The house was full of grandchildren, who were anxiously waiting for grace to be said so that they could dig into the delicious feast. I still remember the wonderful aroma that permeated the air as we opened the door to my grandparents' house.

My grandmother got up early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day to put the turkey in the oven and to bake the pies to ensure dinner would be done on time. It was a special time for family back then, and we always came away with our stomachs full of food and our hearts full of love.

Eventually, the grandchildren all grew up and had children of their own and then, before they knew it, they had extended families to visit.

In our family, someone came up with the idea to get a live turkey to raise and butcher for Thanksgiving dinner. We hadn't given much thought to the process involved; we just romanticized the idea of what a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving meal would be like. So, one year, several months before Thanksgiving my family went out to search for a turkey.

We checked out the various farm markets in the surrounding area, and it wasn't long before we found a prize bird. His given name was Tom.

We purchased Tom and proudly brought him home to his own little house and pen we had made. Soon life settled into a routine turkey's life of eating, scratching around and making gobbling noises.

Turkeys by nature are interesting creatures. Tom could be very cranky on some days, but most of the time he just hung out with us. We found Tom to be very entertaining, and as the months went by, we grew very attached to him.

We did not relish the thought of seeing him stuffed and sitting on our Thanksgiving table. You can imagine how the story ended.

That Thanksgiving, we bought a turkey at the local grocery, and Tom went to live on a nearby farm with other turkeys. So much for building new traditions.

So now, my children are grown up, and I go to their house for Thanksgiving. Each year we enjoy a store-bought turkey and dressing and pumpkin pies.

We still enjoy the stability and joy that is to be found in keeping the old family traditions. The kitchen always smells warm and inviting. The fire still burns bright. And like always, we always eat too much. Everyone has a good time. Isn't that what true family traditions are all about?

No matter what your family traditions are this Thanksgiving, here's hoping that you have a good one.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Susan