In with the new but remembering the old

This year, Merry and I will be hosting her family for Thanksgiving.

It's a bit of a change for me.

For 36 years, I have spent Thanksgiving either at my grandparents' home or my family's home.

This year, I'll be spending it at our home.

I'm looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my soon-to-be family.

But I have to admit there are some things I will miss.

One of them being my grandmother's chicken and dumplings.

She only made it once a year. For Thanksgiving.

There was never any left of this incredible tasty dish. I don't have the recipe, but if I did, I'd be making it for Thursday.

After my grandmother died, my grandfather made the chicken and dumplings.

By the way, Papaw, yours have always tasted just as good. You are truly a wonderful cook.

My mom has also made them and all I can really say is wow.

I will miss those on Thursday as the table is set and I'm ready to sit down to spend time with my soon-to-be family.

Words can't describe how mouth-watering they are.

For the past couple of years, I've also missed having the chance to pester my Nana while she practically drove herself insane getting everything ready, it was almost comical.

Every year, around the holidays, that empty feeling sinks into my stomach. That feeling that no matter how much surrounds you, how much fellowship takes place, something is missing.

I miss teasing her. It was all in fun and we both knew it.

She never liked it when people would gather around the kitchen while she was preparing the holiday meal. We were all supposed to be somewhere else and we knew it. That was her personal space, something you were not supposed to invade.

But we all still found time to sneak into the kitchen.

I often think of her during this time of year. The way she beamed when everybody sat down at the dinner table. The way she lit up during Christmas when it was her turn to open up a present.

She loved the holidays. They drove her crazy, but she loved them.

In recent years, I've noticed my own mother and my fiancee have those same tendencies.

But I don't pester anymore. That was for Nana.