Life often comes with surprises.

Growing up, my mom cooked our Thanksgiving meal (and most meals), generally from scratch.

Her stove and cabinets were situated so that she could reach (she is not a tall lady) her spices by stretching and standing on her tiptoes.

Each year she made her famous pumpkin pies. I couldn’t wait to eat – but we had to wait for my Dad to get home from work in the mines.

After he arrived, we dove into the turkey, dressing, potatoes, corn… my mouth waters writing this. Finally – the pumpkin pie topped with Cool Whip. A slice of heaven!

One year as I gobbled the first bite, my tongue lapsed into convulsions. Something was terribly wrong with the pie! A second bite of pie was even worse, and we washed out our mouths with water.

What could have happened? We were stunned. Eventually we realized that instead of reaching up and grabbing the pumpkin spice, my mom had grabbed the chili spice for the finishing touch on her made-from-scratch pumpkin filling. Despair filled the room as I had to settle for chocolate cake, banana pudding and apple pie.

Every year this story is retold by someone in our family – and last year with great-grandchildren, it reached a fourth generation.

I hope that each of you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

– Leton

PS – Just a reminder to look a little closer at the labels this week.

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“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.