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Turkey Bowl



The cold air pierces my exposed face as I step outside.  I breathe in deeply; my skin soaks in the bits of dappled sun making their way thru the now naked branches of towering oaks.  Leaves swoosh and crackle as my feet brush thru them on my way to the field.  It is the day, long anticipated and it is here.  Today is Thanksgiving, the day of the annual Turkey Bowl!

I step onto the field; the grass brown and covered with a hazy coating of ice.  It snaps and crunches with each step as I walk. I love that feeling.  Just a few weeks ago it was green and pliable and soft on my bare feet.  The coming of fall has changed that.  I sniff the air. I can smell the tang of golden fallen leaves and the smoke from the chimneys of roaring hearths.  There is also the hint of holiday turkeys roasting in ovens. So many delicious smells; I want to savor them all on my tongue.

 I hear the approaching footsteps as friends arrive. We all have reddened cheeks from the cold and steam escapes our mouths with every breath.  Greetings are exchanged, teams are selected and the challenge begins. Coats are shed and the ball is kicked off. We run, we battle, we struggle over a silly oblong shaped leather ball.  We trick, we tackle, we wrestle, we laugh...  Soon we are hot; our bodies sweating beneath the layers of clothing. We are warm happy, contented children with newly released energy.

The sun begins to slip over the other side of it's meridian.  We are satisfied; played out and full from the companionship and camaraderie from the day.  We are hungry and eager with anticipation for the feasts that await us all in our own homes. Our stomachs begin to rumble.  And so we part because we know that there is next year and we will meet again as we have every year...

 This is one of the sweetest memories I have of this day.

 ***********************************************************************

 I have been so very blessed.  I am blessed to be born in this country, blessed with freedom, blessed to have been born to the parents I had, blessed for the brothers and sisters who share in my life.  I feel blessed for the experiences and opportunities I have been given, blessed with a healthy strong and abled body and mind and blessed by those who have come into and brought so much into my life.
On this day i remember...

 On this day i honor...

 On this day i give thanks.

 A very happy Thanksgiving to you all!

 reprint from scribere blog 2009
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