Maggie's First Thanksgiving

Biggleswade, England
November 28, 2019

Here it’s just Thursday 

in the restored brick cottage 

out back of Shortmead House 

on the northern fringe of Biggleswade. 

After a week of grey and rain 

the pocked lane is laced with puddles 

down past the football pitch. I slip 

into six layers and trudge into town 

to stock up on sweet potatoes. I buy 

a box of brown sugar, a vial of vanilla, 

pecans and coconut for the casserole 

your great-grandma used to make. 

Tonight our feast is beans over toast,

jacket potatoes sprinkled with cheddar, 

chased with an ale and a savouring 

of sticky toffee pudding and cream.

Tradition can wait until Saturday 

when Heike comes up from London 

and your Mimi swings by to join momma 

and daddy, Gramma and Grandpa 

crowded around the kitchen table.
Late in the night you’ll nurse milk 

fortified with cornbread and casseroles, 

flavoured with pumpkin and pecan pies.  

Nothing says Thanksgiving like expats 

offered food on a late Fall night 

to share in the warmth of newborn life 

and family that spans two shores.

Thanks to a saint from south Georgia –
a Biggleswade Thanksgiving feast 

donated to the new parents 

by Georgia expat Sara Miller.

Shortmead Lane, Biggleswade, England