Tuesday, November 20, 2007

5 people for Thanksgiving dinner



I'm having Thanksgiving at my house for my in-laws. To reward myself for doing such a nice thing I bought myself a little Thanksgiving present- this cornucopia of flowers. I found it at Costco and love it. Anyway having Thanksgiving at my house reminds me of my Grandma Sara. She has ruined Thanksgiving for me because no one else can do it like her- although my mom comes pretty close. She would have the table set for days before so we could anticipate all the yummy things we would eat. That got me thinking of a question someone asked me once- "If you could have dinner with any 5 people, dead or alive, who would it be and why?" When I was asked this question it took me a long to answer it. There really isn't any celebrity or famous person I would like to really meet. I think I would be disappointed, honestly. But I finally came up with an answer. Here it is:

1)- My Grandma Sara- She died right after Katie was born and I miss her more than I thought I would. She is the kind of person who made every grandchild feel like they were the favorite or everyone was her best friend. She is one of my favorite people.

2)- My Grandma Carol- I was named after her, but when she was an adult she changed her name to Caroline. (Apparently she thought "Carrie" was just an average pretty name!) She was a spunky lady. We called her the "Queen Bee." No one else could tell my dad what to do except her. I think if we were the same age we would have been great friends.

3)- My Grandpa Finn- He died when I was just 4 and I all remember about him is his funeral- sad, huh! But I have heard he was an incredible man who loved his family and wife more than anything. He had a great sense of humor and was a hard worker. Even though I don't remember him, I know I have felt his presence with me during difficult times in my life.

4)- My Grandpa "Pink"- He got the name "Pink" because he had red hair. If you have ever wondered where my girls get their red hair- it is from him. He died when I was 2, so I don't remember anything about him. I would want to have him for dinner just to get to know him. I don't know a lot about him. I do know he was laid-back- probably to off-set my Grandma Carol and that he was a spender. I think he and Eric would have gotten along beautifully!

5)- Mor-my great grandma. She died when I was 14, but I remember her very well. She called me "Car-e" instead of Kari because that was the Norwegian was to pronounce Kari. My favorite story about her is one time my father was visiting her during the winter. She was a very active, healthy woman and my father asked her what she did during the winter to stay active. Now she was in her 80's at the time and this was her response, "I shovel the walks of the little old ladies on the street."

So there it is: the list of who I would have for Thanksgiving dinner- (besides my living relatives- of course!) I have chosen these people because I think it would teach me more about myself than anything else. I believe we are the product of our ancestors more than we realize. I am so thankful for my heritage. It has made me who I am. So if you are reading this- tag- who would you have for Thanksgiving dinner- dead or alive?

4 comments:

Julie said...

Cool topic. You got me thinking. Can I have 10 instead of 5?

youreprettytoo said...

You can have as many people as you want. If you are willing to clean your house before, cook for them and them clean up after them- go for it. Can you tell I'm getting stressed about having everyone for Thanksgiving? I'm at the point where I have so many things to do that I don't do any of them and just look at blogs!

Julie said...

You will do great. Happy Thanksgiving.

JayKo said...

Seriously, I've been thinking about your blog entry since I read it Thanksgiving morning, and I'm really struggling with the final two. Stay tuned! ;) I can't believe you haven't seen that movie at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! I definitely think a double date can be arranged!