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I thought I had picked up all the Fall – every plastic pumpkin, each colorful candy corn, and all the fake fall foliage. But not long after the bins were stuffed fuller than our Thanksgiving bellies, I saw two ceramic turkeys staring at me.

Thoughts of getting rid of the turkeys didn’t dare land. One was my mother-in-law’s and although we don’t need that turkey to trigger tender memories of her, it just seems right to perch it on the table each year.

The other turkey is a creamer. If you don’t believe me, ask my daughter Victoria. As soon as she saw it on the table last week, she remembered using it to add milk to her cereal, and in later years, her coffee.

Before displaying any more Christmas decorations, I decided to tuck those turkeys away in a safe place. The danger is that my ‘safe places’ aren’t memorable, and I typically forget where I have stored things.

What won’t be as easily forgotten are the memories of the many Thanksgivings spent with my in-laws, the days of Victoria hanging out with me in the kitchen, and this year’s experience of eating outdoors.

Now that I think of it, maybe I won’t store those turkeys. Maybe it’s time to keep them out and enjoy those seasonal memories year-round. I wonder if I have any little red bows to put on them.

 

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.