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				Our "Little House on the Prairie" Thanksgiving By Mike Bennett No football. No turkey. No pumpkin pie or heat or water. A mildly challenging Thanksgiving reminded us of daily life in the past, and of all we have to be truly thankful for. now really is beautiful, and was a bit of a novelty for our girls, both born in sunny Southern California. By the time our first Thanksgiving after moving to Northern Idaho arrived, some of the novelty was already fading. Not that it wasn't exciting to have four feet of snow and to break in the snow shovels on the driveway. And even more exciting to climb up a makeshift ladder to prevent the roof of the manufactured home from caving in. Our rental home was in a beautiful, secluded setting, miles from any town but just one house away from a gorgeous little lake, now freezing over. The house sat in a group of summer homes that shared a common well. Both the well and all the appliances in our home (including the furnace) were powered by electricity. So when the power went out in our area that Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we were very quickly plunged back into the dark ages--or at least the "Little House on the Prairie" days. No heater, no lights, no stove, no water! But we still had the phone, the car--and Wal-Mart. "Mike, we lost power!" Becky called me at work to tell me. We didn't know how long it would be out considering the ice storms to the south of us and the holiday. Since Becky's parents were visiting us for Thanksgiving, we decided I'd better drive to the new Wal-Mart before coming home. We needed some way to create some heat, to cook and melt snow for water. Having been out of work the previous summer, I couldn't afford a backup generator. A little propane burner/heater would have to do. What a way to welcome Becky's parents! Thankfully, they are hardy and easy-going people, giving and forgiving. We made it through that Wednesday night without freezing or starving, but we were really hoping the power would be restored in time to cook the Thanksgiving turkey! That little propane burner just wasn't up to that job! Unfortunately, the power didn't come on that Thanksgiving morning or afternoon. Without a stove there would be no turkey, no stuffing, no pumpkin pies. We dug through the defrosting freezer and found some chicken we could cut up and cook over the burner. It definitely wasn't what's considered a traditional Thanksgiving in America today, but it drew us closer to the Pilgrim forefathers who are remembered as originating the day. After a devastating winter, the Pilgrims were very thankful to have survived and to have enough food to celebrate. And so were we. That year we were very thankful that my wife's father suggested shoveling the roof, since a summer home two houses away did collapse under the weight of the snow. We were thankful that her parents made it to our new place in spite of the ice storms that made driving treacherous and closed roads south of us. We were thankful to have a place to live, to have a paycheck, to have food and to be reminded of the things we generally took for granted, like water, heat and lights. Most of all, we were thankful for God's blessing of family and the time we could spend together enjoying each other's company. Though what we experienced was just a minor inconvenience, it was a reminder of what our ancestors faced and of what many people around the world face daily. It made more real the stories we'd read by Laura Ingalls Wilder about the hardships of prairie life in America, especially The Long Winter. We could relate a little more to that winter when the Ingalls were without wood and had to bundle hay in order to have something to burn for heat. With that reminder, we were truly thankful when the power came back on the next day and we had a belated turkey dinner. With heat, water coming from the tap, delicious food and family around, it was a wonderful feast. In tribute to Laura Ingalls Wilder and her wonderful books, we will always remember that as our "Little House on the Prairie" Thanksgiving. Copyright 2002 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved.

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Other Articles by Mike Bennett
Origin of article "Our "Little House on the Prairie" Thanksgiving"
Keywords: thanksgiving 

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