Sisterhood of the Early-Rising Moms . . .

Like many of you, I was up at O-dark:30 this morning to get a jump on the Thanksgiving meal. Usually, I put the turkey in the night before and I wake several times to check that the bird hasn't cooked dry. This year, our main meal is going to be this evening to accomodate our youngest daughter's work schedule, so I managed a full night's sleep.

But I was still awake before dawn--making cinnamon rolls for breakfast, getting the bird ready to go into the oven and rolling out my homemade noodles. I'm in a different kitchen this year--a much smaller one in our condo (we just moved into the unit in June), but it'll do for our little celebration. As the aroma of the cinnamon rolls mingled with the freshly brewed coffee, it felt like home. It was a lovely, quiet time.

And I thought about all the other moms who were up doing the same special things to show their families how much they love them with special food. As I rolled out the noodles, I thought of my mother, who handed down this family recipe to me. I thought of my grandmother, who's gone now, as I used the crocheted hotpad she made for me to remove the rolls from the oven. So many years of the family gathering around different tables. I thought of my sisters ( I have 3). One will be with my parents for Thanksgiving as will our oldest daughter, but I wondered how many people my other sisters would feed at their celebrations today.

In the stillness of the early morning, it was as if all those special women in my life were suddenly very close to me. And I'm so thankful for all of them. They loved me with food, which maybe isn't the best way to show it, but their love has made a such a difference in my life. I hope you have some of those women in your life, too.

I'd share my noodle recipe, but it's the infuriating kind. The kind I used to hate when I first learned to cook. There is no exact measuring of the ingredients. It's thrown together with hope and love. And each time, my DH declares my noodles a revelation, even if they aren't the best batch I've done. Guess he figures even less than perfect noodles are better than no noodles.

So how about you? What special foods say love to your family?