Dear readers: Several years ago I shared the following story as part of a paid campaign. Here I share it again (modified) simply because weevils and their evils are on my mind once more as I prepare to host Thanksgiving dinner.

photo: stock.xchng

Many years ago I established a tradition of spreading Indian-corn kernels on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Friends and family are invited to place kernels symbolizing their personal blessings in the special "gratitude" dish at any time during the meal.

It’s a kinder, gentler, and less intrusive way of getting all around the table to give thanks without shining an invasive spotlight on folks not used to spotlights or  expressing gratitude out loud, be it to friends or to family.

I could never explain the tradition to newcomers to our Thanksgiving table. Each time I'd begin the explanation, I would get all verklempt thinking of my many, many blessings. Thankfully one of my daughters (who are all quite used to Mom's perpetual state of verklemptness) always stepped in and explained it for me. Which would then increase my verklempt state as I was so grateful for her help.

One particular Thanksgiving my daughters had to help me with more than getting through a verklempt state. They had to scramble and help save Thanksgiving — though their valiant efforts unfortunately couldn't help me save face.

The story: The first Thanksgiving I hosted at my house for all the extended family — including my older sister and her husband, whom I wanted desperately to impress — things got messy. See, when I pulled out my "gratitude" dish with Indian-corn kernels saved from the previous year and dumped the kernels onto the beautifully set Thanksgiving table, weevils — which had apparently been happily noshing on the kernels all year — scattered everywhere.

What a mess! What an embarrassing mess that required my daughters to help me completely remove not only the scattered contents of the gratitude dish, but the tablecloth that held the germs and more from the evil weevil residents who had made the dish their home.

Yes, I made an impression that Thanksgiving. Just not at all the one I wanted to.

Needless to say, I wasn’t so thankful for the gratitude dish that year.

Even more needless to say: I no longer save Indian corn kernels from one year to the next.

I do, though, still give heaps of thanks for my girls. And all the other hundreds of blessings I will count this Thanksgiving, via corn kernels or not.

Today's question:

What's your story of the worst — or best — impression you've made in Thanksgivings past?