The Challenge: making thanksgiving look easier than it really is.
The Prize: making a memorable Thanksgiving Dinner.

To my right are the sweet potatoes I craved all year,

Cut in the shape of fries and garnished with seasoning.

My mom hands me the bowl of carrots,

Creamy and gushy to the point where you can no longer see the circular shape of them,

My cousin passes the basket of bread rolls to me,

Soft warm bread rolls that can only be found at Thanksgiving.

"Oh, don't forget the butter," I say,

Butter being the most important combination with the bread,

The cold smooth butter spread out on the warm flaky roll.

"Here, you say always wait for the ham," my godfather says, handing me a piece.

I place that large circular glazed slice of ham on my plate

where I soon cover it with cranberry sauce that bursts with bitterness.

My plate looks like a painting,

All these contrasting colors, a little more vibrant here, a little darker there.

If my plate was a painting it would sell for millions, or at least I would hope.

But I'm missing something,

The master piece, the focus of my painting or plate,

The turkey.

My dad grabs his sharp knife and begins cutting the roasted tender brownish-gold turkey,

Grabs my plate, and hands me a piece.

As I placed my plate down, I stare in amazement;

It's exquisite, making my tastebuds water with joy.

"Are you going to eat, or are you going to write a book about it?" laughed my mom.

I smirked and gripped my fork for fear of losing it within the foods covering my plate.

The first bite of ham covered in cranberries topped with carrots and a piece of sweet potatoes

Was unexplainable, irresistible, and addicting but not everlasting.

Hours pass,

Our plates are clean: even my dog begs for more.

Our stories shared: my cousin is going back for his last year of college.

Our discoveries and magic tricks amaze us: my dad showing a trick and he simply won't reveal how he did it.

Our jokes keep us laughing: my godmother and mother the last ones to get the joke,

Even when my godfather manages to mess up halfway through, ruining the joke.

But our memories live on

and so will the unavoidable questions asked each year:

What are you studying? How's work? How's your love life?

Before the day is gone,

Our Thanksgiving table that once held a turkey

Now holds cakes, pies, and tarts, oh my!

Pecan tarts, an apple strudel pie, and a chocolate brownie creamy cake.

Before I know it, we can't move,

But I don't regret it

At least not at first

Because I know that I wouldn't have wanted to spend Thanksgiving any other way than with my family sharing laughs and sharing the savory mouthwatering delectable creamy foods.