Turkey, gravy, potatoes, gravy, pork stuffing, gravy, bread stuffing, more gravy, “orange stuff,” mashed potatoes, green beans, creamed onions, peas, sweet potatoes and homemade cranberry sauce. Oh, and don’t forget the coleslaw (nine times out of 10 we forget the coleslaw).

That’s just the main meal.

First we have a spread of appetizers and then after there are whoopee pies, pumpkin pie, apple pie, ice cream, cookies, caramel corn, candied nuts, candy and an array of other sweet treats.

I’ve always loved Thanksgiving with my family. Not just because everyone is an amazing cook and there is food abounding to gobble all day long, but because it is a day to spend together, relax and enjoy each other. 

My mother’s side of the family lives mostly within the boundaries of southern Maine, with one straggler who moved to Connecticut with his wife and newborn. For the most part, we see each other frequently, gathering for all major holidays and a few random parties in between. 

It is always exciting to wake up Thanksgiving morning and watching the Macy’s Day Parade as I get ready for the day. Some years, my dad’s father would come over for a breakfast of cinnamon buns and coffee before we go to one of my aunt’s homes, some years he joins my mom’s family as we all gather at my parent’s house. 

Either way, it takes a week’s worth of preparation for a day’s worth of food, and a day’s worth of eating with decade’s worth of memories to discuss. 

We typically go around the table, sharing what everyone is thankful for, usually leading to some tears and much laughter. Mostly, we are all thankful for each other.

Inevitably, there is the random conversation of how we eat our turkey dinner. After years of debating how we eat, I have concluded we are all “mixers,” trying to take in a little bit of everything in one bite — and we don’t understand the people who eat one dinner item at a time.

There is always a delve into past years and remembering the Thanksgiving someone forgot to put the sugar in the pumpkin pie, the way “Memere-B-Candy” always wanted to play cards after dinner and how each year we say we need to cook less food, but each year we just bring more Tupperware. 

Last year, my cousins, ranging between eight to 10 years older than me, started reminiscing about their childhood. They all went to Thornton Academy and all grew up together, then there was me — the baby — who was barely walking during those days.

This year, there is a new baby to dote over — the first baby in the family since me. She’s barely a couple months old and, though I wrote this before hand, will be the highlight of the day, I’m sure. 

Then after all the turkey is consumed that can be, we pack the leftovers — divvying the containers between my cousins and myself — and Memere cracks out the pot to make her one-of-a-kind turkey soup, which will later be eaten with turkey sandwiches — as if we’d actually be hungry after turkey and all the fixings.

— Emma Bouthillette