Baltimore woman cooks special Thanksgiving feast for autistic brother
BALTIMORE -- For one Baltimore woman, Thanksgiving is all about giving of herself to show her brother just how special he is to her.
Catherine Trotter will be the first to tell you that she is not the cook in her family. But every Thanksgiving for the past 12 years she has cooked a special feast for her brother Joe.
"Every year, when I cook for him, it's how I show him love," Trotter said.
Joe is autistic, but Trotter never wants him to feel different, forgotten, or unloved.
"For me to even get in the kitchen, it shows him that even though that's not my thing, I'm going to do it for you."
That's because Trotter believes Thanksgiving is all about giving.
"To me, it's getting beyond yourself and seeing a need for someone else. That truly is what giving thanks is—beyond you to someone else."
Trotter is one of 13 siblings. Her father was a cook.
"I'm gonna improvise," she said. "That's what my daddy used to do."
For every year of giving, Trotter's cooking skills have improved.
"When you do it from love, it's going to come out OK," she said. "When you sit down with that person to eat together, it's more than just the food. It's the exchange."
For Trotter, the return in this exchange is a simple smile.
"He lights up like a Christmas tree when he sees the food coming in," she said.
