Thanksgiving has slipped up on me.

I kept thinking I had another week before the holiday, but as we all know that’s not the case. So, on Thursday I made my run to the grocery store in hopes of missing the crowds.

Fortunately, my timing was right. Chaos had not ensued, and I got out relatively quickly.

The only thing is when I got home, I realized there were a couple of things I had forgotten to pick up.

That’s usually the case for me, but at least with just a few items yet to get, I wouldn’t be in need of a shopping cart that would certainly be a pain to navigate down the clogged aisles.

Since the mantle of hosting the Thanksgiving meal has been passed down to mom and dad, those of us living in Vicksburg all pitch in to cook, which is why I was grocery shopping.

But growing up, our family always traveled to the Delta for Thanksgiving. I can still remember all the food that was laid out in my grandmother’s kitchen for all to enjoy. Of course, there were all the usual — turkey and dressing, sweet potato casserole, garden-fresh butter beans and an assortment of desserts that included my great-aunt Lucille’s coconut cake and the family favorite, grandmother’s chocolate cake.

We still enjoy much of the food that was served at my grandmother’s house with the exception of the garden-fresh butter beans. Since she is no longer with us, we have been relegated to buying them frozen.

In addition to those frozen butter beans, also now served at Thanksgiving is pasta with marinara sauce.

This happened when my sister-in-law showed up with a big pan and plopped it down on mom’s countertop. No one had ever cooked or brought pasta for Thanksgiving before unless, of course, it was macaroni and cheese. But our family was growing and apparently so was the menu.

My sister-in-law, you see, had grown up in a household with an Italian father, and for her, pasta with homemade marinara sauce was a regular dish.

So, as we filled out plates that Thanksgiving with all the usuals, to be polite we also spooned out a serving of pasta.

Well, let me just tell you, it was good — so good it has now become a family favorite and is anticipated on holidays.

Tradition and holidays seem to always go hand in hand, and that’s all well and good. But what I have learned from pasta and homemade marinara sauce is that you can add more spice to something already nice.

Happy Thanksgiving.