Claire Henley's Grace Notes: Thanksgiving In Rising Fawn

  • Friday, November 27, 2015
  • Claire Henley

Aunt Kathaleen was pulling twice baked potatoes out of the oven as I entered her and Uncle David’s mountain home in Rising Fawn, Georgia. Caleb and Locksley stepped in behind me, and Uncle David took our coats that we really didn’t need to have on in the first place, as it was such a warm and sunny Thanksgiving day.

This was the first time I’d been inside my aunt and uncle’s home on the bluff since it was complete. Last Christmas the family gathered there and we sat in collapsible camp chairs.

Now the place was put together beautifully with tables and artwork and lamps and couches and chairs and the grand stone fireplace stacking up the living room wall.

Locksley placed her carrot cake cupcakes on one of Aunt Kathaleen’s silver trays. I popped my green bean casserole in the oven to warm. My cousin David (who everyone calls Little David to differentiate him from his dad, who we call Big David) was working on carving the bird. Little David’s wife Lauren set the dining room table while Locksley and I put ice in the glasses next to cousin Scott who was playing on the hardwood floor with David and Lauren’s Australian Shepherd pup, Rio.

“And where is your mother and Mike?” Aunt Kathaleen asked as she stirred the steamed carrots.

“They’re on their way,” I said of my mom and stepdad who were running a little late.

We ate the warm and salty artichoke dip on crackers and the cool and sweet chow-chow on fresh cut veggies in preparation for the main meal. When my mom and Michael arrived, my mom hurried in and set her seven-layer salad on the counter. She told Locksley and me to follow her into the utility room where there is extra counter space. 

“I didn’t put the deviled eggs together yet because I didn’t want them to get soggy,” Mama said to Locksley and me as she pulled out two Tupperware bowls, one with boiled eggs cut in half, the other with the yellow yolk filling for deviled eggs.

It was almost one in the afternoon and people were getting hungry. My mom ran back into the kitchen and returned with three spoons and two glass deviled egg platters. Having grown up with a mother who always brings deviled eggs as her staple family gathering dish, Locksley and I knew the drill and started stuffing. We placed the eggs neatly on the platters and our mom went in behind us to add some more filling to each egg because, as she says, there’s nothing worse than a deviled egg that hasn’t been deviled enough.

Everyone held hands and Uncle David said the prayer around the island in the kitchen. Then we grabbed our plates and weighed them down with all the Thanksgiving food. Aunt Kathaleen even made butter-me-nots, the signature biscuits my grandmother Nonnee would make for every special occasion. Butter-me-nots are so chock-full with butter you’d be crazy to add your own. We all thought of Nonnee, who passed away three years ago, in that moment of putting the butter-me-nots on our plates. And we smiled.

From the living room you step into the dining room, where a wall of windows looks over the bluff to the valley and farmland below. With the scenic view in the background, we ate and told stories. My mom, whose name is Jennifer, told the story of when she was in high school and worked one summer as an assistant to an elderly woman who had no sense of direction and who always called her Christopher.

“I worked for her in order to save money for my trip with Mother to Spain. The woman threw me a going away party at the end of the summer, and the cake said, ‘Bon Voyage Christopher!’”

I don’t remember what caused my mom to think of this, but everyone laughed.

After lunch we all pitched in to clean up. Aunt Kathaleen suggested we start a fire outside. David and Scott built the fire and everyone gathered around it. The fire pit was in the center of some small rock pillars that stood in a circle. Aunt Kathaleen said the previous owner of the house arranged the pillars this way to represent Stonehenge. “Only, he named it Pebblehenge,” she said.  

We relaxed by the smoky fire for several hours, drinking coffee and eating cupcakes and enjoying each other’s presence. Aunt Kathaleen said how important it is to simply relax. Because Thanksgiving can be a very busy day. But what truly matters is spending time—good time—with the ones you love.

I sat in a camp chair between Caleb and Locksley, and in those few hours all was right with the world. And I was very thankful.

Latest Headlines
Happenings
Michael Gerard Receives American Police Hall Of Fame Civilian Medal Of Appreciation
Michael Gerard Receives American Police Hall Of Fame Civilian Medal Of Appreciation
  • 3/18/2024

Collegedale officers responded to Garden Plaza of Greenbriar Cove on Sept. 21, 2023, after receiving a report of a missing elderly resident with dementia. The patient had left the facility approximately ... more

New Hamilton County Marriage Licenses
  • 3/18/2024

Here are the new marriage licenses from the County Clerk's office: SCOTT EDWARD KELLEY JAIMIE LYNN PASTORI 2205 JAMES AVE 4203 TENNESSEE AVE CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee 374156511 CHATTANOOGA, ... more

Chief John Ross DAR Presents Gold ROTC Medal
Chief John Ross DAR Presents Gold ROTC Medal
  • 3/18/2024

Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR had their March meeting on the 13th, and the meeting theme was Women’s History Month. Officials said, "Chapter member, Kay Sencabaugh, presented an entertaining ... more