Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was unforgettable. I woke up around 9:30 excited for the day ahead of me. Somehow instead of getting ready though, Jeremiah and I ended up taking our Christmas card photo (see below). We are a classy folk.I started out at my grandma Pattis- she and my grandpa cooked while my cousins and i played with my pet rats. Grant (7) could not get enough of Chica (rat) crawling into and out of his shirt. I walked in on him alone in the room giggling- it was that kind of belly laugh that brings tears to your eyes.. possibly one of my favorite moments of the day. Soon enough, family arrived and the meal was served. I scarfed down a lot of food before it occurred to me that i was going to be eating again in 3 hours, and then i felt guilty and started eating more slowly, though i was already full. It's hard to resist a full buffet of food these days, as it is a rarity in my world. My grandpa and i talked biology and evolution (Did you know that humans are progressively growing larger over time? We can no longer fit into the old time suits of armor! Looking at my grandpa, this is not hard to believe. He is a tall, tall man. Also, our most ancient roots can be traced back to Australia, not even Africa as i had so often presumed.) My parents and my brother and i took a family photo, and tried to make it look candid. My dad insisted that it not look posed. He suggested that we "act like we are about to leave." My mom pointed out that this would still be posed. My family doesn't often make small tasks do-able. We like to muddle, and discuss, and argue, and laugh, and struggle a bit i suppose. Anyway, eventually we got a few photos that should suffice. After a glass of wine that my parents urged me not to finish, i left for Jeremiahs.

The drive from my grandmas house on Lake Jefferson to Jeremiahs was beautiful! The lakes were starting to freeze and it was a sunny day and i wished for a camera.

Upon arrival, Jeremiah welcomed me inside and introduced me to several members of his family, whom i had not previously met. I came prepared with a bottle of wine, but apparently nobody else had realized the liquor stores were closed on Thanksgiving. We called around and failed to find any resources. As folks arrived, there was a consistent mumble of complaints about it. We made due though. At Jeremiahs, the hustle and bustle was notable. I tried to capture it in a photo, but without the volume and the array of laughter and talk, it does not do the actual moment justice:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE!)

The highlight of this experience: I was playing hide and seek outside with Nation (7) and Hugo (5) at night. I was hiding in the front yard behind a car, and tricked myself into thinking that i heard them, and that they had found me. So, i jumped up screaming, and both Nation and Hugo were at the other side of the yard. I had given away my position. Also, while playing catch phrase with 8 or so other adults, i confused the pentagon with the parthenon and was infinitely embarrassed. It was a good experience overall though, much warmth and laughter and conversation, made a person feel good to be alive in such a place.

I ended my night at work, because i was due for an overnight. I slept on the floor, which i have found to be good for my back. I faded away to the sounds of an episode of Seinfeld.