Here we are, post-Thanksgiving (in the U.S., at least), and I’m feeling even more grateful than yesterday.
I had a wonderful meal with fun, interesting people, and it did not include any of the following: decades-old family arguments, Jello “salad,” or that one relative with a drinking problem who ends up snoring in the recliner in front of the game.
(Not that this happens with my family! Truly! Though I have had to experience more than one gelatin-related side dish in my day. Just sayin’.)
At the end of last night’s festivities there was even an impromptu singalong at the piano with my talented host. You know all those Christmas carols we’ve been singing forever? Turns out I don’t actually know the lyrics beyond the first line, which means I then have to resort to the ever-popular “something something something” faking-it vocalizing. Sigh.
Today I’m thinking about family and friends and the history we all share, which got me thinking about the tiny town in South Dakota where I was born. I realized I still have all kinds of photos from visits that I’ve never shared, and today seemed like a good day to remedy that.
I love old stuff, and here are a couple good examples:
This Pontiac isn’t going anywhere.
I love the burnished blue and rust on this one.
Talk about history! I’m guessing my mother’s father drove these cars, or maybe her brother drove the white Pontiac, I’m not sure. And to just park them out in the yard, leaving them to stand sentinel forever after. What have they seen in all this time? (More than one Jello salad, I can tell you that.)
What about you? Did the holiday bring up memories of Thanksgivings past? If it did, I hope they were good ones, but if not, I hope you had a lovely day yesterday and were able to create a new, happy memory. I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
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Trent harvested the last petals from my white rose bush. We all cruised around Lake San Marcos in. Duffy boat. It was beautiful and serene. He scattered the petals on the water in memory of his Nana (my Mom). She loved roses, cruising in a Duffy boat and sharing Thanksgiving meals. A tribute to her as we enjoyed our afternoon and Thanksgiving dinner.
Lee, that sounds perfect and beautiful. Thank you for sharing it. <3
1. If the relative with the drinking problem only ends up snoring in the recliner, I’d say that’s pretty harmless. There are so many *other* things that a relative with a drinking problem could do instead. You know what I mean.
2. I had an aunt who was … thrifty. Now, I came from a family of Depression-era folk. They were ALL thrifty. (My mother said of one of her brothers, “He pinches pennies so hard that he makes Lincoln scream.” Like she was one to talk. But I digress.) But this aunt – and I will point out here that she was an aunt by marriage, thank God – was SO cheap that she would add extra water to the Jell-O to make it go further. Which meant that it never really jelled properly. It came out pretty runny. So this one time we were at her house and she served Jell-O for dessert. She cut us each a square and plopped some white substance on top. I thought it was a dollop of whipped cream. I dug right in and shoved that white glob into my pie hole. SURPRISE! It was … mayonnaise. And of course I couldn’t spit it out because I was a guest, and I was about ten or eleven years old, so I was old enough to have some modicum of manners, and so I had to choke that crap down and try not to make any gagging noises. I do believe that was the last time I ever allowed someone to serve me Jell-O involuntarily.
3. We celebrated Thanksgiving a week early because the out-of-town son was IN town and we got to meet his new girlfriend. So yesterday was a bit odd since the rest of the world was doing Thanksgiving and we weren’t … but it was also nice and relaxing. It’s all good. 🙂 We took our other son to see “Coco” in a nearly empty theater and were vastly entertained. Wins all around! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Deborah – You’re absolutely right about the alcoholic relative, and I stuck with a mild example so as not to upset anyone on the holiday. (Really, I was trying to keep it light.) But speaking of upset, your Jello story? OH MY GOD. You may have ruined my appetite for the entire weekend. 😉 On a happy note, your Thanksgivings, early and otherwise, sound lovely. I’m so glad.
I have been busy, busy busy! Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow!
Emilie – Better late than never! I’m cooking what I intended to make (before I had plans) tomorrow night, too. 🙂