After three days of Turkey, when the delivery guy showed up- it was like
"Oh...Thank God!" (falling before him like a Muslim at Mecca)
He said he has gotten that a lot recently.
And a miracle in itself getting ALL the grands (and honorary grands) save Preston...in the same spot at the same time. May have to find a kneeling photo of his that is perspectively correct and photoshop him in this to put in my Professional Grandma picture frame!
Thanksgiving began Wednesday night with an invite to Chris and Tina's new place together and her first ever attempt at a Holiday Dinner (...which was amazing, by the way!)
With Turkey-Bird... Cheddar cheese biscuits...Green bean casserole...devilled eggs topped with real chopped bacon [yes...BACON...absolutely ditching the Paprika thing forever...]...and pumpkin pie!
Way to go, girl!
And enjoying Chris' lime green post-it notes on EVERYTHING as he learns German.
"Ja, Das es meine Plattenspeile"
So we listened to Alice's Restaurant on vinyl as he played along on the guitar...had a pre-Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat...did a re-watch of Zombieland...observed Rule # 32...and then got up the next morning...
Thanksgiving Proper
Where they stopped by my place before heading out to Granny Great's.
I fixed Hot Coffee and Cinnabons with Cream Cheese Icing and topped with freshly spiced pecans...the house smelled amazing!
And we had a close encounter with Siri.
To be fair...she STARTED it, okay?
I was trying to get a photo of the kids with Tina's Cell when I accidentally pushed the Siri Button. Nothing. Again. Nothing. And then Siri's voice asking what I wanted to do.
I remember muttering the following expletive laden exclamation
"I JUST want to see..."
[you will understand the rest of the statement when you see Siri's reponse]
After which, when the tears and laughter subsided, we did a screen shot.
And we spent the next 30 minutes exchanging bizarre comments with
Siri.
She can be a bit of a stuck-up bitch, you know.
So, while they made their way to Granny Great's; Nancy swooped Brenden and I up to head to James and Nicole's.
And huge thanks to Donna and Tanya for making it all possible! To have most of my grands in one spot at the same time. It was incredible, happy, chaos!
Big Mike, Nancy and Scott [James' former co-driver...who rolled in later] joined us. Nicole cooked to feed an army...which we kind of were. A gigantic Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Green Bean Casserole. Yeast Rolls [the real deal...rising on the table, on my arrival, to bake later] Corn. Creamed Peas. A Feast.
Everything absolutely delicious!
I got to meet Tanya's new daughter Natalyn when she dropped the girls off- too cute with a blue crinkle ribbon and flower on her head. Looks just like Kaylee at that age. And marvel at the fact that Aiden is now crawling everywhere and pulling himself up. Brenden and all the girls were absolutely thrilled to be back together racing through the house and playing Dinosaur in the playroom with empty boxes ala Jurassic Park. All three movies were televised to get us primed for the release of the new one soon. And the adults all listened to Alice's Restaurant with dinner!
I had one of those Moments of "deja veux by proxy".
Nancy and I were playing 500 Rummy. We had a bowl of Cheese-it crackers on the table. Brenden was quietly standing watching us play cards for a minute and helping eat the Cheese-its...and there it was...the flashback to being a young child watching my grandparents and Aunt Mona & Uncle Jim around their table playing the same game in the 60's with the omni-present bowl of cheese-its and a cut-glass candy dish full of wrapped round cinnamon ball hard candy. Both of which my cousin and I frequently plundered throughout their card games.
~smiling~
Now, I am the Grandma.
Life comes full circle.
James drove me home beneath a duck-feather snowfall. It was perfect.
Black Friday came the next morning, and I had a pre-bought fresh turkey breast to stuff and yams to bake with butter, and salad to make, and rolls to warm and a slice of Tina's pumpkin pie with whipped cream courtesy of Chris...and yet ANOTHER [now post] Thanksgiving dinner while working on the house, making the list, writing the Christmas cards...et al.
Anyway...I think that is why I've developed an allergy to Turkey.
At least until next Thanksgiving.
Enjoying the last bit of pumpkin pie with coffee this morning...and a fast may be in order tomorrow. There is no walking this off...unless you walked to, say, Key West or San Francisco.
And above all...I am truly Thankful.
Family...Gratitude...Tradition and Food.
The Key to Happiness.
Life is Good.
