There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American. – O. Henry Despite the fact that I am Irish, I have always grown up with Thanksgiving as my Mam hails from Nebraska. While we never went all out for 4th of July, Thanksgiving was a sight to behold. Mam would have us on clean-up duty the entire week ahead of time, and, while we cleaned, she would bake and prepare tons of delicious food like her almond slices (to die for!), salad jelly (jello–which is one of my favourite Thanksgiving foods), and, particularly when we were younger, her homemade brown bread. By Thanksgiving day we’d be in a state of restless anticipation. Besides my own family, which numbers nine, over the years we’ve had several different guests, but some of the consistent ones include two of my Mam’s best friends in Ireland and my Dad’s cousin who is like an aunt to us kids. When the guests would arrive we’d usher them into the sitting room to chat …