One More Round of Applause for Apple Crisp

Happy Thanks-
giving!
I love this holiday. It lacks the baggage of other holidays. Even though the Native Americans may not be all that grateful that they didn't annihilate the Europeans who came upon their shores 400+ years ago, my ancestors were amongst the crowd who came and celebrated a successful harvest and co-existence with the people of New England.
I made apple crisp as one of the desserts for our dinner. When I started blogging it was about this time last year, and one of my earliest posts was on apple crisp. It is probably the dessert that reminds my children most of home. The recipe is absolutely perfect, a chewy oatmeal cookie mixture sits atop apples tossed with 2 tablespoons of sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon. It is great on it's own, but we prefer a dollop of vanilla ice cream, that melts with the warm apples.
I made what I would characterize as a giant-sized apple crisp for a meal that I was serving for a work function last week, and I invited my two oldest sons, who live in my town but not in my house. They were relieved to have come off a week or two of exams and papers, and they were talkative, relaxed and ready to be fed. They helped with setting up the meal, and were gracious with guests--helping to clear off the tables and chatting with folks.
But when the apple crisp hit the table, they wasted no time in getting heaping portions. Usually at these sorts of events, where more people show up than expected, we would instruct them to exercise 'family hold back'--we go last. If there are limited amounts, we have none. They were not to be denied on this occasion, however. One of them had called me and told me that I had seriously miscalculated how much macaroni and cheese as well as apple crisp I was going to need, and he wasn't wrong. Live and learn. Sometimes the food is more than just calories. It reminds us of what we are thankful for.