Laughter is a holy moment shared—even God loves to laugh. He keeps a scrapbook of memories recalling the things we say and do that delight His heart (see Malachi 3:16).
One of the joys of Thanksgiving is recalling those holy laughter moments that bind us closer as a family and friends. Recently our son, Daniel, told his college group the story of when we served a four-legged turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
For the last fifteen years of my mom and dad’s life, the family gathered at my house for the big Thanksgiving feast. My folks would arrive several hours before dinner, which provided Dad plenty of time to “oversee” my turkey roasting (and everything else.)
One year I decided I’d had enough. I sewed two extra legs on a turkey and roasted it as usual. The family kept Dad busy with other things he could “oversee” whenever I had to baste the turkey. But when it was time to carve the turkey, the honor went to my dad. He fell for it—hook, line, and legs.
“Oh my gosh! Look at this turkey.” Dad exclaimed as he gathered the family around. “I’ve never seen a turkey like this before. I can’t believe they didn’t catch it in the meat processing plant.”
Hearing our giggles, Dad’s eyebrows went up. Enlightenment dawned on his face. We devoured our four-legged bird, and Dad never bossed me around in the kitchen again.
What holy moments of laughter do you recall from Thanksgivings past? Click on “comment” at the very bottom of this post to share your tall tale.
This Post Has 8 Comments
I don’t know if this is a better way of commenting or the “share” button. Anyway, I was thinking as I was reading your blog today that your dad, was probably smiling as he read as you wrote your blog. Family time together can be a jewel or a disaster, the decision is up to us on our attitude ~ Treasure (as you did Susan) the moments we have together. Family and friends won’t always be there ~
Loved your 4-legged turkey story. You are so creative! And your site is beautiful and a joy to visit!!
My story:
We hosted Thanksgiving 3 years ago at our home. And since most of our family lives in the Bay Area, they came down to stay for at least a couple days, not just for dinner. So, we managed to cram 15 people in all the bedrooms. We had our kids in our bedroom with us. The problem is, I snore…..some might say loudly. So, needless to say, the kids were having trouble sleeping. Since there was no other room I could sleep in, I slept in my closet! Good thing it’s a walk-in closet.
A little pathetic, but funny. We all still laugh about the Thanksgiving that Mom “went INTO the closet”!!!
I loved your Thanksgivng story about the four legged turkey. What a crack up. That would be something I could have done to my dad, as he was a micro manager, perfectionsist.
I was trying to think of any funny stories that have happened at our house. Oh…I’ve got one…One year we had probably 16-20 people for Thanksgiving. That included my brother’s wife’s father, and her two nephews, (who had never been to our house before). Lots of people and lots of fun. Until……after all had filled up to bursting with Thanksgiving dinner, and the toilets backed up. GROAN. So…we live on an acre, and have a barn in the “south forty”, and when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. One of the nephews needed to go…So we gave him a trusty shovel, and he made his trek to the barn. I felt so bad. But apparently he had a great time here and always talked about the wonderful time they had at the Lewis’. Then as the afternoon wore on, all the men were standing around the grass where the septic tank was, and decided that they should dig it up and check it out. LOVELY! So the dirt started flying, and etc. etc. Didn’t really fix anything that day, but had a rip roaring time at the Lewis Thanksgiving. Thanksfully in spite of it all there was “laughter in the moment.”
I love to laugh. Laughter is the best medicine.
Thanks Deb, I think my Dad always enjoyed this story after the shock wore off. He was pretty good at taking a joke.
And Sandy, your story is so funny! I could just picture it and smell it (kinda). What a hoot! Thank you for sharing it, and have a wonderful Lewis Thanksgiving!
Angela, I can just imagine you curled up in the closet snoring! What did you do with all the stuff that is usually on the floor of a closet? (Or are you really, really organized?)
Great story! I’m sure he retold it, too!
Microwaves had just made the scene and my mom and dad had come for Thanksgiving. My mom and I decided it would be fun to cook the turkey in the microwave. When we cut into it, it was dry and way over cooked. We had a good laugh and off to Denny’s we went.
That’s funny, Cathy. Denny’s to the rescue!