Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

This year I was given the task of making the secondary staple of the table, the Mac & Cheese. On my Facebook page I expressed some frustration in creating this dish because I don’t have a tangible recipe. We’ve already discussed that dilemma. 

What I  didn’t discuss is why it was so importan that I come correct on the Macaroni & Cheese.  The dish itself makes me think of my Granny (Ellen). I miss her so much, it’s been a decade but I can still go to pieces about it. My mom took me to a restaurant for my birthday back in 2008 (OK Cafe in Atlanta off I-75) and their Mac was so much like Granny’s, I dropped real tears at the table. 

I tasted what I made last night and it took me back to sitting in her room wishing somebody would make a way to rewind a VHS faster so I could watch The Color Purple again. 

Some of you know that I haven’t watched the whole movie since she died,  but I woke up thinking about what I’m grateful for and the scene below came to mind. There’s nothing that you can’t escape,  nothing you can’t overcome and it’s never too late to start a brand new life.

I’m thankful that I learned this lesson at 8… but I’m mostly thankful that I finally reached the point in life that I don’t feel like jumping in the trunk and riding off… as often as I have in the past. I’m thankful that after several years of moving all around and working my way to a new life that I have a place of my own to call home and no need to put a three fingered curse on the people around me.

My Granny used to tell me “Find you some strangers, they’ll do you better than family.” and with each passing year I find great new strangers that accept me as I am and always have a spot in their trunk for me… just in case. 🙂 

Enjoy!