My second family

After news started spreading of what had happened to me on the 22nd, one of the first people that wanted to immediately come to Jacksonville was Rick’s sister Wendy. When I met Rick, his entire family welcomed me with open arms. I know a lot of the comments and memories so far that have been posted here seem to revolve around food. And my very, very favorite meal of the entire year is Thanksgiving. At home in Baltimore, it was the one meal of the year that we had more carbs than a human should be allowed. There would be as many as twelve to thirteen people crammed around the dining room table, three kind of stuffing - oyster, sausage raisin, and of course the traditional sage stuffing for the turkey - and every side dish known to mankind. Grandmother Cronise always insisted on getting what she referred to as “the part of the turkey that went over the fence last”. The only thing we didn’t like about Thanksgiving dinner was the cleanup. With a family as large as mine of course everyone had to kick in with the chores. It seemed to take forever to get the dishes done. It was also one of the few times during the year that we used the Jewel Tea dishes. I did discover that sauerkraut at Thanksgiving is not a universal dish! Actually we would have sauerkraut and spareribs at Thanksgiving.

After I moved to Florida, Thanksgiving at Wendy’s became a new and wonderful tradition. At first when people would ask me where I was going for thanksgiving and I said, “Wendy’s” you could tell from the puzzled look on their faces that they thought I was having burgers. In fact, Wendy lives in Gulfstream, Florida just above Delray Beach. Her home is always a wonderful place of solace for Rick and I to go to. They get up early in the morning and sit on the back porch and solve the world’s problems with their coffee and act when I get up at 7 a.m. that somehow I have slept the day away.

Well, the first Thanksgiving we were together, I offered to cook and Wendy offered to clean up. Little did she know how my family cooked Thanksgiving and just how many dishes were going to be there after dinner to wash. To this day each year we always joke and laugh about what a mess I made of the kitchen.

Thanksgiving Day always starts out with Rick and Wendy deciding how long the turkey needs to stay in the oven – typically by the X number of minutes per pound formula. I tend to believe that the people who produce the turkey have more accurate information as to how long it should stay in the oven. So after they’ve come to their determination how long the turkey should stay in, I put it in for the amount of time that it actually should be. Over the years we have culled down the number of dishes to a Thanksgiving more appropriate for the three of us that it usually is. By the time we sit down to dinner, the only thing left to be washed are the plates we’re about to eat from.

The day after Thanksgiving, Rick and I typically get up early and head out for the after Thanksgiving sales just because we like to. We’re back by noon and spend the rest of the weekend enjoying each other’s company. I count Wendy as a much loved sister and am grateful that she was part of the package deal with Rick.

Their parents Ted and Nonnie have since passed, but I was fortunate enough to get to know them also in a very loving and caring way.