Grandpa stood up. He said, “Well, we thank you all for coming tonight. This has been a good year for all of us. We’d like to remind you that Leonard will be leaving on his Church mission during this next year. So this will be his last time to be with us at Christmas for a few years.
“We’ll call on Bill to say the prayer and the blessing on the food.”
He motioned to my dad and then Dad got up and folded his arms while the rest of us did the same. A split second after he said amen, there was pandemonium as people everywhere rushed to the buffet table to start getting their food.
Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, dressing, tossed salad, jello salad with whipped cream, rolls, and more were spread before us as we gathered around the table in the kitchen to load our plates with the feast. It was like Thanksgiving all over again. Then we went into the living room and sat on the floor to eat our meal. There was a table for the smaller children, but there just wasn’t room enough for us all to sit at the table. The food tasted just as good to me whether I was sitting on the hearth of the fireplace or standing up.
When most of the people had finished eating and the hungrier ones among us had been back for seconds or thirds, Grandma Winnie started clearing up the paper plates and cups, as well as the empty bowls and trays. Everyone helped her of course. She left the remaining food on the table so anyone could go back to help himself to another piece of turkey or whatever they wanted.
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