Last week, during an after school conversation about Thanksgiving, I experienced that moment when I knew I would leave a lasting impact on society after I’m gone. (This is something you think about when you pass your mid 60’s…) Morgan, grandgirl #2, who is almost 13, informed me that, to her amazement, not everyone celebrates Pie Day. Her younger sister chimed in saying that a lot of her friends actually BUY their pies, adding “And, mostly, they taste awful!”.
Every year, on the day before Thanksgiving, we gather to make the pies. This means that the Northern California contingent must arrange to be down south by midday Wednesday, not an easy feat, and all the parents take off work for the afternoon to be part of the action. Dinner that night is pizza since it takes hours to bake the pies.
Pecan, Pumpkin and Apple Crumb. One year I tried to introduce an Cran/Apple/Walnut that I had enjoyed on Cape Cod, and another year a Salted Honey Pie like the one I’d loved at Sweedeedee in Portland, Oregon, but the old standards win out every time.
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While I’ve been doing pies for Thanksgiving for almost 50 years, this family group effort started about 20 years ago, before any of the grandchildren were here. It started as a communal lesson in pie making for a younger generation, my niece and some of my sons’ friends and their wives. Soon after, #1 grandgirl. Julianne, was standing on a chair rolling pie dough and stirring the pumpkin filling. Gradually we added a girl here, and another boy there, until we have six, and Pie Day now has become as much a part of Thanksgivng for the Grandgirls and -boys as turkey, olives on every finger, cranberry jello, and yeast rolls.
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Each child is given a small pie plate to fill with the pie of their choice, and this can be a difficult decision for some (especially Lexi!). And, someday, they will probably graduate to a full piece of pie. I’ve been wondering if this will be Julianne’s year since it’s her first year at college. However, she has brought three roommates home to share our Thanksgiving, so we have extra small pie plates for them, just in case.
Two years ago, each child was given their own rolling pin
and last year we all autographed each other’s new aprons. They are all racing towards adulthood, and I want them to have the memories along with these treasures to carry forward, to encourage them to have homemade pies and special family days as they grow their own families.
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So, maybe thinking I’ll have a long-lasting impact on society is a stretch, but, if Pie Day is my legacy, I’m good with that!