“We are going to my grandma’s house,” A classmate said of her upcoming holiday plans. Another chimed in, “My cousins are coming over.” There was a holiday coming up. It was not Christmas or Easter but it seemed  important. There were borders of autumn leaves, pumpkins, and turkeys encircling my classroom’s chalkboards. Yes, it was something with turkeys and food and family. “What is a Pilgrim?” I thought but would not articulate for fear of sounding ignorant.

It was my third month in first grade year in America. I was still figuring out the English language and American traditions. Mine was the trial by fire method; sink or swim – I was on my own. My parents spoke even less English than I did. We had no relatives nearby and barely any friends. We had landed in this strange country just five months earlier as immigrants/refugees from Bulgaria  via Germany.

Thanksgiving. While my classmates were busy comparing family and social notes, I expected nothing. One day after school, my mother showed me a postcard that had arrived. We thought we read that we had won a turkey. My mother opened her English/Bulgarian dictionary and we looked up every word. Sure enough, we had won a turkey!

The Grand Union grocery store was a short walk from our apartment. My mother and I dressed in our best coats, hats, and gloves, pulled on our boots, and headed for the store. There was a muddy construction site between us and the store and we cautiously picked our way to the other side. As we walked, I asked my mother how it happened that we had won this amazing thing. She was uncertain but told me, ”People in this country seem to be very generous. We must have an angel over us.” As newly arrived refugees and non-English speaking, our resources were very thin. My father worked two jobs just to pay the rent. A turkey was the last thing that we would have considered that first year.

Somebody in the store recognized my mother and asked to help us. Sheepishly, she withdrew the postcard from her purse and showed it to the clerk. “Oh, you are one of our winners! Congratulations!” exclaimed the delighted clerk, who hugged her shoulders. “Come this way and bring your basket, it’s a big one,” said the clerk. I went to the front of the store, pulled out a shopping basket, and pushed it to my mother. The clerk disappeared , returning several minutes later with a 20 pound turkey. It was frozen and packaged in plastic with blue and red writing on the package. Still hugging my mother’s shoulders, the clerk guided her in the direction of the bakery and then the canned goods. Our basket filled with bread, cake mix, canned cranberries, potatoes, and greens. “Can you get all this home now?” asked the excited clerk? We were not exactly sure what she asked but my mother nodded. She opened her purse to pay for all of the food but the clerk shook her head and said, “The is all for you from us! Happy Thanksgiving to your family!” In a daze, we pushed the cart home through the muddy construction site. What had just happened?

With the aid of her dictionary, my mother translated every word of the directions for  cooking the turkey . With my father’s help,  we somehow managed to get it prepared and into the oven. Our apartment smelled warm and delicious all day. Not being a cook, the process was strange to my mother. She even followed the directions on the cake mix and baked the cake. Being new and without a television, we relied on pictures from  newspapers paper and  magazines to understand what the meal looked like and its presentation. When it was finally cooked, we set the table, dressed in our best clothes (we had very few)  and had our first Thanksgiving meal.

After our holiday break the children were comparing their holiday adventures. One turned to ask me about mine, “Our turkey was 20 pounds!” I exclaimed. We ate turkey until Christmas.

Our thanksgiving is  not limited to just one day. We are thankful for our lives, our freedom, our opportunities, and the love and generosity of the American people. After many years, we remember our first Thanksgiving as we pay it forward with others.