As I recalled the account of a fateful holiday meal, posted yesterday on Communicating Across Boundaries, I asked my mom to recount the event from her perspective:

That Thanksgiving is a bit of a blurr.  Of course, I wanted it to be
perfect.  Dad had gone to Malawi, by train, to get our beloved
students.  I remained in Nampula to prepare a perfect Thanksgiving.  I
remained to get the house all ready and to hang the welcome home sign.
I wanted savory, holiday smells to greet the children as they entered
the house.  I waited.  The train, with my eagerly anticipated
passengers, arrived late, of course.  Daddy didn’t feel too well and
went straight to bed.  I herded the kids to the table and we sat down
to an anti-climactic Thanksgiving dinner.  The guinea fowl, which we
had ordered special from a the only “restaurant” in town (turkey being
unavailable and this bird being especially requested by one son) was
so dry we only pretended to enjoy it.  Some pretended more than
others.  And that’s all I remember.  I do believe that after this
experience I decided I would always accompany my husband on the 4 day
trek, round trip on various public transports, to retrieve our
children from the airport in neighboring Malawi.  I wasn’t ever again
going to miss out on two or three whole days with the kids just to
stay home and prepare the perfect welcome.

******************************************************************

As you prepare your favorite meal, anticipate time with family or friends, and think about the gifts you joyfully give to those you love, continually be conscious of and thankful for the Greatest Gift, a Redeemer, the One who came to save us from ourselves.  We were steeped in sin from birth, but he offers the indescribable gift of salvation.

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!  2 Corinthians 9:15 (ESV)

Related post: Moving to a Country in Civil Way (1988): A Letter to My Small Children