Family Thanksgiving

For the past few years my wife and sometimes my sons and their families go to my sister's home for Thanksgiving with her daughter and husband. My niece and her husband do what they call a "Pilgrim" thanksgiving where he cooks many things outside in Dutch ovens buried in coals or this year a half hog on a pit. I know the Pilgrims did not have concrete blocks like shown in his pit, but you get the idea.
It is nice to go back home for a visit and I should go more often.(Bennettsville, SC).
We lived in the country and my sister got 5 acres from Dad and built next to us in 1960. Our home was built in 1939 and I was born(1945) and raised there. My niece and her husband were able to buy 5 acres from the neighbor and built next to my sister years later. I stood in my sister's back yard and took these 3 pictures. 1st looking left at my old home.
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Then my sister's home. (Her husband died several years ago)
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And to the right is my Niece's home where we all gathered.
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Standing there looking at my old home place made me reflect back on the good old days when there was family all around and a kid could take off out his back door with a 22 rifle or fishing pole and spend many carefree hours away from all the madness we see in this world today.(Think Ferguson, Mo.) The lack of job opportunity makes it necessary to leave home sometime, but you pay a price when you do.
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This last picture is my niece's husband and part of his family as they prepared to take the pig to the table. I think his side of the family had about 20 folks there. With just my wife and I, plus my sister and her daughter, there were only 4 from my side.
So I guess this rant is all about how important family is and to encourage you to take every opportunity to visit them, especially if they live some distance away.

PS I could not leave out the big pot of collards he cooked on an open fire. And the family Lab asleep beside the fire.

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Looks like a great time again this year Ray, thanks for sharing the pics and the reflections from years pass. Memories can not be lost or replaced but new memories are made daily, sometimes we just don't know what will become the our best ones.

Thanks for taking us on your memory trip.Looks like you had a good time.

Looks like a good time to be had with the memories, the food and family. You left out how good the food was. I was hungry after seeing to pig cooking, then you showed my favorite food collards. Thanks for sharing with your other family!

Very nice post! Thanks.

Enjoyed your post, Ray. Sometimes the small things are the greatest blessings. A meal with family is one of those. Glad you took the opportunity to visit. Ronnie is right, memories are still to be made....if we take the time to make them.

mighty fine read Ray thanks for sharing your Thanksgiving with us
I also remember those days with the .22 and homemade fishing poles
got scars on my hands from making them for fishing in the creek down
behind my house. I still live a couple hundred yards from the old farm
house I was born in. I also was born in 1945 ( must have been a good year :)
at least for you and I :HandsClapping ) back before ferguson and the madness that
goes on now. the people in the community took care of the thugs and thieves
before the police had to kill um=== i'm done venting sorry bout that but it really
bothers me to see our country going down the tube like it is

Looks great Ray, I too miss the old family standard we used to have at my moms place. With my lady and I not doing dinner until Friday due some work restrictions, I took the time to pay a surprise visit to my brothers. He's fallen on some tough luck lately, but he managed to throw a turkey in the fryer, a big pot home grown collards on the stove and some mashed potatoes and gravy together. It wasn't much, but it was made with love. The food, along with with a few tears and few laughs made for a fine Thanksgiving Dinner.

Looks like a great time Sir. Thanks for letting us enjoy it with you.

Looks like a picture perfect Thanksgiving to me! Thanks for sharing.