The giants moved through the land of the Lilliputians with great ease during the early Thanksgiving gathering in the holiday suite. While the giants hauled in suitcases, boxes of food and toys, the Lilliputians, released from car seat captivities, raced, toddled and crawled as they explored the unit where they discovered the basket of the toys.
The tiniest Lilliputian man pulled out the yellow bulldozer connected with an electric cord to a controller. Holding the controller, he paraded around the circle of rooms with the trailing bulldozer, delighted to be controlling something smaller than himself.
His Lilliputian sister with an elfish grin grabbed the tea set, filled the tea pot with water and began filling tea cups to serve to the giants.
The giants smiled knowingly and politely sipped their tea.
The Lilliputian Curlytop promptly found all the books and a Giant with a lap. She plopped herself down, confident that any Giant will read books to any Lilliputian who sits in their lap.
A couple years shy of becoming a short giant, the oldest Lilliputian roared through the rooms, showing off his new-found skill of sounding out Giant letters and sometimes words. He struggled with the Giant’s shoe-tying mandate, proved he knew how to set a table and sat for long periods at the fancy desk to color – sometimes joined by the Lilliputian with the elfish grin.
The roly-poly Lilliputian smiled, cooed and grabbed her newly-discovered toes. Anything anyone said in her general direction sufficed for a conversation. Propped into a sitting position and surrounded by pillows she reached and picked up items to study. When she tipped too far to the side, she rolled over and began shoving and pushing with her legs. She protested any attempt to cuddle her like a baby – she insisted she needed help standing. She liked to stand. She liked to bounce. As soon as she got her strength up, she promised to be up, crawling and walking, but just now, she needed a helping hand.
When the Giants moved back and forth fixing food, the Lilliputians pulled out pots, pans and lids for the Giants to use … even if they did not need them. The old, white-haired Giant peeled apples for an apple crisp watching a parade of sleepy giants coming to fill their cups at the coffee pot.
Giant women carried Lilliputians on their hips as they prepared vegetables, tasted desserts and made grocery lists of necessities. Giant men took Lilliputians out to explore the park.
The tiny little man tolerated being lifted up to the counter to eat, but voiced a strong opinion in body language about the food offered. A violent thrust backward said he did not like the vegetables. He much preferred the cake and desserts, his grabby hands insisted. When the oldest Giant lady offered to help him eat, he communicated his displeasure with a twist, a turn, a lean and reaching out to the Giant man he kept around to help him every day.
Sitting at the table of bounty for the Thanksgiving dinner, the Giants declared, “Let’s go around the table and for each letter of the alphabet give thanks for one item.”
Curly-top Lilliputian did not want to participate. Little man had not learned enough of the Giant’s language yet, he just thumped the table for another helping of food. The Lilliputian with the elfish grin giggled. Not knowing the Giant’s letters that well, she smiled and said, “I’m not thankful,” for most of her turns.
The almost Giant, but still Lilliputian, proudly grinned and announced he was that for the letter U he was thankful for onions.
For these moments, fleeting as they may be, thank you, Lord. For the blessing of Lilliputians, who all too soon will be Giants helping to prepare the holiday feast, we thank you. With each new Lilliputian at the Thanksgiving table, we celebrate the promise of the continuation of life and the joy they bring.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times. E-mail her at jhershberger@eldoradonews.com.)