Cleaning up on an American Thanksgiving

At 5:45 am she knows the day will probably be long, sweet with the coming day and approaching winter. She says she hopes it will be a clear, cool day, much like many mornings in her home country of Guatemala.

Reyna Lopez says that even today, a few days ahead, she can see the picture of the basket of cherries that hangs in the family's kitchen, something that catches her attention when she goes into the empty house to help get it ready for a family gathering.

Cherries, Reyna says, have always been special to her. They remind her of George Washington and the things she learned about America when she was studying for her citizenship tests.

On this coming Thanksgiving, the family would not be home until late in the day. They had already told Reyna the week before when she inquired about whether they would need her to work this year.

Yes they had said they would need her here. Could she make sure that the dining area and television room were dusted; the floors swept; the walls, furniture and pictures wiped clean to give the place her great shine. The family liked that and they would all be there this year. Oh, and "Could she move the table out a bit and move the sofa over" so there would be room for leaves and the spare table, which they would bring down when they got home late in the day for their evening dinner.

And if she could just put the china out … that too would be lovely.

Reyna knew what to do because she had done it on several occasions for the more than six years she has been working cleaning people's homes. Her ritual for this coming Thanksgiving would be the same as most of the other holidays she worked. One family or another would need her to clean. And they were betting on the fact that she would love to help them.

This family was a good client of hers, and she would do the work because she knew that she would receive her hundred dollars for the day's work. She would start early so she could get out early for her family plans. And with luck, she was sure, this year they would again make sure that her pay was waiting for her in the house, an envelop with a note reminding her of what they wanted and many little green pictures of George Washington.

Reyna is like many of the other domestic workers in communities across the country that have settled into being a working part of the holiday preparations.

Thanksgiving is just another day of work for Reyna, except that she will work earlier, do things a little differently and then get ready to spend some time with her own family and the things that she values about this American holiday.

"I have two problems," she says when pressed to talk about the day by someone like me who does not speak Spanish. "The day is holiday. And I need to work. But to me the day does not mean what others mean about the day." She smiles. "No one gives thanks for my day of coming here (arriving in America)," she shrugs.

But at the same time she realizes, she has another conflict. Parts of her chosen family, through her friendships and the family of her son, are native citizens who do special things on Thanksgiving. So she plans her day around finishing her work early and heading off to those traditional celebrations.

"It's okay," Reyna then says, almost laughing as she turns to get back to work. "My son lives up by the casinos, and we will bet on Thanksgiving."

Erick Martinez says his mother and cousins and uncles like to visit on holidays. "They get the weekend free," he says. "And they laugh about going to help the Native Americans. It's one of those weird messages that newcomers live with, I think."

Erick and I are doing our part to plan a traditional meal for Erick's mother and his other relatives. They talk about it as an experience that helps them when they go through their citizenship interviews.

So he and I plan a special meal. This year we will have roasted turkeys (two different spiced versions), a sweet potato "zoup" (as I call it, the "zing" coming from pureed pineapple!), scalloped potatoes, a bean and vegetable mix, fresh bread, and cranberry sauce laced with jalapeno bits to reward their Spanish tastes.

Reyna will sleep on the drive over with the rest of the family, late on Thanksgiving Day after she finishes working. Her friends and relatives are jammed into three cars, bringing an entire load of people for dinner—most of who don't communicate well in English but who like to visit and eat.

They are not really sure usually about what stuffing is and they don't really care for Egg Nog. But the food is generally good American food, they think.

When they get to our house, everyone will jump in and help set up the table. They will move the furniture around and start playing games while Erick and I try to finish in the kitchen. Reyna will come and join in, asking what she can do to help. She likes to put some touches on the dishes. Her impulse is to cook and cook whenever there are groups together.

"Can I make tortillas? Do you want some salsa? Will these work with the turkey?" she will ask Erick to ask me, since communicating these requests are hard in her broken English.

Roloman, Reyna's brother, will need to leave early, she reminds Erick, hoping I won't hear her. He will have to work later in the night like some of the others.

Eighteen of us will jam ourselves around three tables when the food is ready. Spanish music will slide in behind the conversation, and in the distance a movie will be playing. Someone will have been watching it in English with subtitles for help.

There will be so many combinations of language understandings that we will try to give everyone a little bit of something they understand.

And everyone will get stuffed with the food they like.

"That was much good," Reyna says. She gets up to start cleaning the dishes.

"They will want to go," she will explain to Erick.

Two of the cars will get ready to continue on their journey. "They want to go to the casinos," he shares with me so that I know they have something else to do. Is that okay, Reyna's eyes will ask? "If we help clean the kitchen?"

The casino is 30 minutes north of where Erick and I live. It is very large and usually busy on holidays, particularly late in the day. Getting there early is best.

It seems to be a special place to go for people who have come here from other lands. Much like traditional American families might go to a movie or stay together for a longer day of sitting around and eating more as they drink wine or beer into the evening.

I will ask Reyna if she is going. "Oh yes," she says. She likes to go to the casinos. And she can sleep while the others drive. It was a good day of work.

"Do they want some food for later?" Erick will ask.

But they will say no. The best secret is that the casino on a holiday like Thanksgiving is a good place to be with with friends from the City and, if they win at the tables, they can always enjoy the food at the buffet the casino offers.

"They have good ethnic food for the holidays," one of Erick's cousins will say. The casino is already advertising that its menu includes special items to please the Filipino, Mexican and Chinese palates for a great Thanksgiving feast.

And Reyna will joke that she likes to spin the slots so that she will get her dessert: sweet American cherries, three across.

She's definitely betting on cleaning up on this very American Thanksgiving Day.