Though
you might think a wedding is an important family moment, trust me, the
really, really big thrill for a parent comes when one of the kids decides
to host a major holiday event. This year, for the first time, my daughter
and her husband had Thanksgiving at their place.
It's not
that we have a really big family, and we do like to cook, but year after
year the primary responsibility for arranging and hosting all holiday
and birthday events has fallen on us. And frankly it just gets old.
You start to wonder when, if ever, your children are going to pony up
and invite you over instead of just bringing the pies and the sides.
Something
about kids coming home makes them, well, "kids" again, and
though they are more than willing to help, if asked, they rarely do
offer to help. Instead, they tend to fall into old patterns, plopping
themselves on the couch in front of the TV watching the football game
or reading while you slave away in the kitchen. I love my family, but
sometimes I'm boiling right along with the gravy, yes I am.
So, in
September when Susan and Abel offered to have Thanksgiving, we were
very happy. Never mind that we had to share the event with my X and
his Yfe, no problem at all. We're all grownups and that was a long time
ago. Besides, there are two ends to every table, right? Abel's Mom and
sister would be coming from out of town as well.
It was
an especially momentous occasion, because neither Susan nor Abel are
big on cooking. So, what started out to be a manageable event just kept
growing. My son, Rob, his wife, Trina, and my two grand daughters accepted.
Then my other son Al, and his wife, Rachel, in Seattle decided to fly
in. My sons are the cooks in our family, one professionally, and the
other spent years in the business, from waiting tables to managing restaurants.
So this was a definitely a big event.
Much anticipation
ensued. We could hardly wait to bring our sides, Mom's famous dressing,
and Chuck's famous cranberry sauce, and then plop ourselves down on
the couch in front of the appetizers waiting to be served. No, really,
we were going to offer to help, really we were. Heh, heh...
So the
big day came, we all appeared with our dishes. We did offer to help,
of course, but they insisted they had it under control, and they did.
It was the perfect opportunity to set their new dining table with my
Mom's good china, a wedding present to them, and it looked great. There
were 16 people to eat two turkeys, a ham, two cranberry dishes, sweet
potatoes, mashed potatoes, dressing brussels sprouts, and green beans,
and wine. After we properly stuffed ourselves, they cleaned up, and
did the dishes while we crashed on the couches. Then we played some
games for a while, and later partook of our choice of 5 pies.
Finally,
those that were left watched Bend it Like Beckham, a great little
movie. Everyone got along without their being any really difficult moments.
It was all very enjoyable. We tried to convince them to do it again
next year, but I think it'll likely be back at our place, again. But,
since the first time went so well, I'm pretty sure that the will be
a next, eventually, and I may be able to pass on that turkey platter
yet.
Continuing
our marathon weekend of of fun-filled-family events....
On Friday we all planned to go to the sing-along "Sound of Music"
at the Music Box. We did, and I don't know about the rest of them, but
my grand daughters and I certainly had a good time singing and making
stupid comments to the screen. It was silly and fun. We didn't have
time to do the costume thing, and I was surprised that more other people
didn't dress up as characters. Of the ones that did, the three who came
as the "distributor caps" won the prize, and the "bowing
lady" took second, third went to a very well appointed Max, he
was great, but just too perfect. The audience appreciated the cleverness
of the others more.
Then
on Saturday, in yet another family moment, (this time sans the X and
Yfe), we had an impromptu birthday gathering for Susan at our favorite
Chinese restaurant. Since everyone was in town, it just seemed like
a great opportunity to do this. She was pleased. The food was good,
and, yet again, and it was very enjoyable.
Today
we said good bye to Al and Rachel, sending them on their way back to
Seattle. I will really miss them, but I'm very glad they got to come
in for this event.
It
was so good to be together with everyone. We had a great weekend.
While every family has it's own share of good and bad history, we generally
do seem to get along pretty well. We can laugh a lot and have a lot
of fun. There are no really big grudges to work around, and there certainly
were no bad feelings or unhappy incidents this weekend at all. There
rarely are, really. I am so grateful for that, and so thankful for the
group our family has become.