You're thinking food right? Not at all! Thanksgiving with our families this year was such a treat! If you read my earlier post, you know all about my dread over family holidays. I love my family very much, but they tend to lean to the materialistic side, overdo things, stress out and can sometimes be generally mean! But this year was the exact opposite!
We started the day with hubby's family. We had a nice drive down, singing to all of our favorites on the classic rock station, which was fun for hubby and I...and I think we drove the boys crazy, which is funny, because it is total role reversal for us. Normally, they are driving us crazy in the car! We were in a happy, cozy silly mood, so as we passed the turkey farm on the way to see family, we decided that in the spirit of Thanksgiving...we had to stop and take a picture in front of the big sign! So we stopped on the side of the road (luckily, it was a country road without much traffic) put the camera on the truck, on a timer and took a great shot! I've added the picture, just for fun!
After that, we got back into the truck and headed off to Grandmother's house (well, grandmother-in-law for me). We got there, and got to see all of our nieces and nephews. The house was filled with 5 kids running around all between the ages of 4-6...let's just say it was totally loud and lots of fun! We got to see both of hubby's grandma's, his grandpas, his parents, his sisters & brothers-in-law and a few other family friends. We had a very nice visit with them, and normally they have TONS of food out, for appetizers and this year they skipped much of that, and just had coffee and cheese & crackers. It was so nice to see them paring it down, becuase they often go overboard!
Around "lunchtime" we hopped in the truck again, and went off to see my parents, and honestly...this was the part of the day that I was dreading! However, we had a really great time. My family didn't go overboard on food, we had some leftover's, but nothing obsene. My mother actually let others into her kitchen to help with the food (this is what normally causes her stress), so I handled taking the cranberry jelly out of the can (does no one trust my cooking? Although, this is a totally sacred job, becuase you have to be careful the jelly doesn't loose it's can shape), my brother made the gravy, hubby made the mashed potatoes, grandma made the pies, my boys helped set the table, dad carved the turkey, and my uncle followed up and washed the dishes. So this year, everyone pitched in, and it was a wonderful event. There was no arguing, there were no tense moments that normally occur at our family gatherings, it really was peaceful and happy. After that, we drove back to our home town, with the kids falling asleep almost instantly after getting into the car. Hubby and I sang silly Christmas carols (God, we sound like idiots, with all the singing in the car...we're not, really! We are just both horrible singers, so we are limited to singing in the car or the shower). And I came home and began decorating for Christmas, I don't think I could have asked for a nicer day.
Do I think it is sad, that it has taken me 28 years to have a peaceful Thanksgiving with my family...maybe a little. But I'm so happy that we had it, even if it took almost 3 decades to get here. Now, I just have to try to keep my hopes down...I can't expect Christmas to be this lovely, can I?
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