There are some traditions that are absolutely sacred around here. Just as most Americans eat turkey and way too many carbs on this particular Thursday in November, it is also a given that we will be listening to Alice's Restaurant at some point during the day. These are just the rules. On this occasion, I brought it up on Spotify just as we were setting out to leave for dinner with the family, and the whole song got us most of the way to my brother-in-law's house. It set the mood perfectly.
Turnout was a little smaller than we anticipated. Several family members were sick this year and thus stayed home, and some went to be with other relatives. Still, enough of the family was there to make it the emotionally nourishing event it always is. There were five children aged 5 and below present--Valerie and four boys. Obviously Dmitri stayed where people put him, but the others ran and ran and ran the entire day. I have never seen Val as happily active as today, going in circles around the house with her cousins. It gave me so many flashbacks to holidays with my own cousins when we were little kids, and I have had warm fuzzy feelings all day from it.
My niece made a comment about Thanksgiving being so much more fun as an adult, and I can see what she was getting at. It is so comforting to just be with family, eating and catching up and letting the kids do their own thing. But there are ways it is less fun too. I used to be able to pack away food. I've learned over the years not to overload my plate, to get just a little of everything that I'm going to want on the first pass. Gone are the days of getting up and refilling a plate. This year, it wasn't even possible to do the some-of-every-pie trick. I had one piece of blueberry pie and that was that. Now it is time for loose pajamas and lethargy.
Once we made it home, we put our feet up and covered up in blankets, and enjoyed the stillness. The Mr went off to watch one of the Star Wars series while I snoozed in my chair. This is another Thanksgiving that couldn't be beat in the books.
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