Oh, Delicious Indecision!

Every  year as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I have to ask my family this crucial question.  What kind of pie are we going to have this year?  Seems like a simple question, with a simple answer.  But, no.  Not for our family.  My husband says “Pecan” and my son says, “Pecan.”  Then my middle daughter says “Apple and Pecan.”  My youngest daughter says, “Chocolate… and Apple, and I get to help make the Cherry pie this year.”

Then the short debate happens wherein daughter 2 and daughter 3 both claim the other one made the cherry pie last year.  Weaving the lattice top crust is a lot of fun and it looks pretty cool.  Not to mention the filling is the easiest pie we do, open can, dump into unbaked pie crust.

Coconut cream pie. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Doesn’t anyone want Coconut Cream or Banana Cream?” I ask imploringly.  Silly me.  I’m the only one who likes either of those kinds. If I want to, I can make a cream pie.  A bit of whipped cream and a sprinkle of coconut or some slices banana. Nice.

Then someone always says, you should probably make a Pumpkin pie, since it is Thanksgiving.  “But no one likes Pumpkin!” I counter.  “I’ll eat some, says my husband, “And I’ll have some too,” says middle daughter.  “I might,” says my son with little commitment in his voice. A few years ago we acquired a son-in-law who loves Pumpkin Pie.  So if he’s in town, that debate settles itself.  A pumpkin pie goes on the “yes” list.

What about Daughter 1, what kind of pie does she want? Someone invariably asks. That’s my oldest daughter who doesn’t live at home anymore.  Sometimes, I actually call and ask her what kind she wants, but she says, “oh whatever you make, Mom, will be great!”  When she did live at home, she liked to eat some of the apple pie filling before it got baked.  We don’t get to see her for Thanksgiving this year.  Dang.

So I count the votes, “Okay, so that’s one Apple, one Pecan, one Cherry, one Chocolate and one Cream pie.”

“Can’t we have cheater cheesecake too?” My husband asks.  “That’s not really pie,” I say, “it’s cake.”

Then he reminds me that we always run out of Pecan.  And Apple.  So I add another one of each of those to the list. And, he reminds me that the chocolate sits forlorn in the fridge, untouched.  Chocolate being ignored is a strange phenomenon.  I’ll have to investigate that some time.   So maybe I won’t do the chocolate pie this year either.

I like to fantasize about other flavors; Lemon Merengue, Strawberry, Peanut Butter, Key Lime, Blueberry, Peach. Mmmmm.  But those are for another day.  Maybe a Sunday treat sometime during the year.  I should make a list and magnet it to the fridge so I don’t forget.

The final pie count? 2 Apple, 2 Pecan, 1 Cherry, 1 Cream and 1 Pumpkin.

I like to think of pie as the topping on the whole Thanksgiving day.  A symbol of the richness, the sweetness, and the abundance of my life.  We don’t have everything, but we have all that we need.  Family, friends, freedom, work, meaning, hope.  Life is stuffed full of goodness even when it feels otherwise.  Especially on this singular day of  giving thanks, I celebrate all that is right and good and delicious about my life.

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