Thanksgiving Fun

You know that Thanksgiving is a great time to spend with family. We were planning to see one of my brothers and his family, but they had a few hitches which didn't allow them to come up from Utah. Hitch number one happened to be a "blizzard," and yes, I do use the term loosely. There was supposed to be a really bad snow storm. Granted, it did close one of the passes for a day or so, but it ended up being a lot weaker than El Nino. Hitch number two happened to come in the form of a sixteen year old girl who couldn't put down her cell phone to stop texting and just happened to be surprised when she ran into a minivan.

Oops.

Interesting tangent—the three car seats all had their belts cut after the crash by authorities. Evidently if a car seat has been in a crash it cannot be put back into a car, and this is how it is enforced. There were no injuries, so the crash wasn't that bad, but I hope that the young lady who was driving the other vehicle realizes her mistake and doesn't text anymore while driving. It's poor form.

My sister-in-law's parents were going to come too, but they ended up having unexpected company, so that left four people (and one Munchkin who spit out every piece of turkey that was placed in her mouth, even when veiled in things she really liked) to attempt to polish off an 18 pound turkey. We gave it our best, but ended up taking home quite a bit of turkey for ourselves, as well as leaving quite a bit for my parents. I wonder if we'll have turkey with them on our meal next Monday?

We had a very nice day with them. Munchkin wasn't feeling that well because she is teething again. We have found that she is drooling a whole bunch. With her other six seven teeth that she got, we didn't have to worry about the front of outfits being wet. But the drool is really coming on with the pointy ones on top. My brother-in-law who is a dentist might correct me the next time he sees me on what those teeth are actually called. Canines, maybe?

But back to the day.

Munchkin took a short nap, dinner was delicious, and Wifey got her Christmas fix by putting up the Christmas tree with Mom while Dad tried to teach Munchkin how to say, "Bah Humbug." By the end of the day, she was able to say, "Bah," and Dad was putting up the lights on the tree.

Munchkin didn't know what to think about the tree at first. My parents have a fake tree, and when we pulled out all the pieces and laid them on the floor, she started scowling and complaining. I think she got the impression that we were taking up the space where she normally plays, and she didn't like that. After the tree was up with all the ornaments, she warmed up to the idea. She walked around the tree and touched, with one tiny outstretched finger, each of the ornaments that were hanging low enough for her to investigate. The more fragile ones were hung higher, but the wooden ones were down where she could explore.

At the appointed hour, we left to go have dessert with Wifey's extended family. I felt bad on the way over there, because as we were leaving, I noticed that Mom was a bit misty. I think that it was just one of those times where she really didn't want the day to end. She was having a good time, and with most of her kids grown and moved away, she doesn't get the opportunity to see them as much as she might like. In less than a year, they will probably be traveling the world to go see the kids and grandkids. We are glad that they are serving where they are, but we know that sometimes it is hard for them to not be able to see family.

So, on this day after Thanksgiving, I can say that I am grateful for family. We had a great day with my parents, followed by a great evening with Wifey's extended and immediate family. It is a pity that not everyone can experience the joy of family. As Christmas approaches, take the time to make sure that you are able to get your family near you.