Thanksgiving 2009

7:10 It is early Thanksgiving morning. I am the only one awake. The house is still quiet and dark. The apartments across the yard are dark except for the kitchen windows which glow with light and activity. More Americans working heard to make the perfect feast.

It is odd to be in a foreign country for this particular holiday. It is a holiday that only Americans celebrate. Well Canadians celebrate it too, but last I checked Canada was part of North America and they think Thanksgiving is in October. The last three years the kids went to school on Thanksgiving day, but this morning they are still sleeping upstairs as I make the pie dough for pumpkin pie. I decided to let them skip school today because this is Cody's last Thanksgiving at home. I want a true family holiday. David thinks I have lost my mind.

9:45 Everyone except the teenager is up. I personally think he is awake and hiding in his room because I don't see how anyone could possibly sleep through this. Good lord. Next year they all go to school in Thanksgiving. It is much nicer to cook without kids screaming, yelling, and fighting. What was I thinking? Dave just keeps looking at me and grinning. He is too smart to actually say out loud that he told me so, but that grin says it all.

It Lives! As I was typing Cody emerged long enough to announce he was going to take a shower and disappear into the bathroom. Colin is playing piano, Grayson is talking to himself, and Alonzo is playing an annoying percussion instrument in my ear while singing Moon Moon Moon shining bright. David is vacuuming and in the background the TV is running on BBC morning news. I am going back to the kitchen to check on the pies.

11:01 the pies are finally done. Someone, probably Grayson, turned the oven down to 280 while they were cooing so instead of taking 45 minutes they took well over an hour. I can only hope they are cooked all the way through. I am starting to understand why we were usually thrown out of the house on Thanksgiving. At least we lived in South Texas where the the weather is usually nice this time of year. Turkey is going in now and I am going to take a shower. Kids are being thrown out of the house since the weather is nice today.

1:48 Boys came back from outside with a fish for the snake's Thanksgiving dinner. Guess they went to the duck pond with Cody. Dinner seems to be on schedule, kinda scary. Usually I am not this organized, something must be wrong. Kids are quiet now. Dave put on Monsters vs. Aliens. TV as a babysitter is a lifesaver some days. Even the teens (the girlfriend showed up) are quiet. Nice.

3:03 Almost everything is ready the last few things are heating in the oven. kids are playing wii. I am glad they stayed home after all even if the morning a little rough.

8:32 The dishes are washed, the guests are gone, and the kids are in bed. All is quiet and I am still so full I can hardly move. We went the traditional route with roast turkey, green beans, cornbread casserole, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, stovetop stuffing, cranberry sauce from a can (yuck) and fresh cranberry chutney, homemade bread plus one of our guests brought Jamaican chicken soup and ribs YUM! Then there were the desserts: cheesecake, pumpkin pie, pineapple upside down cake, and apple brown betty. I ate some of everything, so did everyone else and still there are leftovers. Tons of leftovers.

We had eleven people for dinner this year. I really prefer Thanksgivings when we have a full house. To me Thanksgiving is a holiday to share with others. I am glad I let the kids stay home. They enjoyed playing Wii with our guests while waiting for dinner. Then after dinner we all flopped down in the living room and watch Scooby Doo the Mystery Begins. Not the best movie ever but the kids liked it so it was a good way to end the day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hope your day was as good as ours!