Thanksgiving Plate

It's only taken me 22 days to finally sit down and think about what I'm thankful for. Everyday in November I see where people have posted that they are thankful for everything from bendy straws to electricity. Let's face it, bendy straws are freakn awesome! It kind of disturbed me that I should have to really sit down and think about what I'm thankful for. Have I finally succumb to the depression that threatens my existence due to my current status in life? No, I just have some serious attention deficit disorder so getting me to sit still and focus is the issue here. Oh look something shiny..
So I'll start off with the basics. I'm thankful for air, food, water- water that's mixed with hot chocolate. Hey if people can be thankful for bendy straws, then I get hot chocolate. I'm also thankful for strong, positive female role models like Harriet Tubman, Hillary Clinton, and Mannila Walker. You know that Dr. Seuss quote: 'To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world' - well that quote is kind of fitting to describe Mannila Walker.
Mannila was a soft-spoken woman of very meager means. At 44yrs old she had five children and a deceased husband; thus she had a cow and worked the ground to provide for her family. Everyday was a struggle but her children knew they were loved first and foremost. Clothes were made of feed sacks and lunches consisted of potato biscuits. Sweets and any extras were practically unheard of but it was one of the children's birthdays and she wanted to be able to make him a cake. She would need to walk at least 5 miles to get to the closest store. It was February 18th, 1960 in Boone, NC.
Mannila was successful in her journey to the store after the local postman saw her and offered a ride into town. After purchasing her groceries along with the coveted sugar and flour, she proceeded on her trek back home. The weather began to turn and that date would begin the Blizzard of 1960, one of the worst storms ever to hit the high country in history. It was three days later that her son saw a piece of Mannila's dress flapping in the wind exactly 100 yards from her front door. They would find the sack of groceries hid under a rock overhang for safe keeping. The children would be sent to an orphanage, never adopted out. The oldest girl would eventually run away at 17 only to return married so she could retrieve her siblings. A true testament to the determination that had been instilled in her by Mannila.
That oldest girl is now my mother-in-law and while she sits at the head of my Thanksgiving table, we have an empty plate at the other end. That plate represents Mannila's place. It serves as a reminder of the love that a woman had for her children. A woman who made the ultimate sacrifice in an act of trying to provide for her family. It is a symbol that maybe family is what we are most thankful for on Thanksgiving and every day.