A Thanksgiving for love of family.

Thanksgiving was always so much fun as we usually spent the day at my grandmothers home along with our cousins, about 20 of us crammed into an intercity row home for the big event.

The obligatory card tables were set up in the basement for all the cousins while the adults feasted upstairs on probably the largest turkey available.

My grandmother was a remarkable woman, one I loved deeply and because of her example I have a great love for family and family togetherness.

She was widowed at a very young age, my mother was only 3 years old while her brother was still in the womb when my grandfather died.

It was also during the years of the depression and she had limited education and no discernible skills but was determined to raise her two children in spite of the urgings of others who suggested adoption. Her love would eventually conquer all.

These were difficult times and I don't know how many today would have accepted the challenges she faced, opting out instead for an easier life. 

Her grit and determination, along with her love for her children kept her going. It was not always the easiest path but the most rewarding.

Years later her oldest sister, who was widowed and childless, came to live with her to take over the household chores while my grandmother went to work in a factory. Two very remarkable women made a home for my mother and uncle.

Her true blessings was her family and especially all those grandchildren, 13 in all, who gave her life joy and purpose.

Each and every one could claim to be her favorite, and we would all be correct.

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for my grandmother, Margaret Mary Bradley and her sister Mae Scanlan, for their love and warmth and example of what love can do for a family. My mother inherited their love and passed it down to her children so we can hand it down to ours.

May God bless us and all of you this Thanksgiving Day

My Mother, Uncle John and Grandmother circa 1944