50+ Lifestyles

Thanksgiving Soup

By David W. Deuth, CFSP
President, Weerts Funeral Home

To be totally honest, I don’t remember much about kindergarten. But, I do remember my teacher. I remember that we got to take naps. And, I remember that we did something special for Thanksgiving.

I suppose we made some turkeys by outlining our hand on fall-colored construction paper. We might have had some shocks of corn and a couple pumpkins in our classroom, too. Probably made a pilgrim hat as best we could.

My most vivid kindergarten memory, however, was making Thanksgiving Soup.

Each student was asked to bring a particular vegetable: carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, peas, corn. Our teacher brought in a big stock pot, filled it with meat and broth and put it on the stove. (We actually had a stove!) We sorted the vegetables into groups, and then she told us something about each one before washing, chopping and placing each of the ingredients into the stock pot.

We learned a little bit about vegetables, I guess. They start as seeds, which are planted and grow in the ground. When they’re done growing, they’re harvested. And they’re supposed to be good for you.

But, we also learned some important life lessons from making Thanksgiving Soup as kindergartners. Some of it made sense even then….and some required a little time to sink in until we became adults.

We learned that when everyone contributed to a common goal, we could make something special for everyone without creating hardship for anyone.

We learned that the earth is a precious gift, and, when used properly, can provide good things for our health, our benefit and our enjoyment

We learned that sometimes things “need a little salt.”

We learned that mixing different ingredients together can create delicious flavors that singular ingredients cannot offer on their own.

And, we learned what it meant to wait as the soup simmered in our classroom kitchen, the aroma growing evermore inviting hour by hour, day by day.

After the soup had simmered for a couple of days, our reward was finally realized when we set the table and everyone sat down together to enjoy the culmination of all that we had provided, prepared and learned. And as we prepared to partake of the fruits of our labors, we learned perhaps the most important lesson of all:

Giving Thanks.

And I still Remember Well.