Thanksgiving

Initially we planned to go Granny's house for Thanksgiving, but Heather had to work, so Granny, Gramps, and Ryder came to our house instead. Although there were only 9 of us, Mom brought enough food for about 25 people, not that anyone complained. She really outdid herself this year, and everything was perfect.

Phillip, Russell and Patrick joined us and everyone had their all the football, family and food they could want. I was disappointed that we parted with a family tradition, and I, not Dad, carved the turkey. In many years the turkey carving has been more entertaining than the football games, and was sometimes more dangerous. My theft of freshly carved turkey slices always elicited a strong response from Dad, who resorted to increasingly more desperate measures to defend his handiwork. In past years he yelled loudly at me, smacked me, chased me out of the house and around the yard, and one attempted theft even drove him to reflexively strike at my hand.....with the electric knife. This year, all of that excitement was absent as I simply carved the turkey. The turkey was cooked to perfection, but just not the same without the tension. To make matters worse, my partner in crime, Sara wasn't here, since she was in Canada with George, her boyfriend.


Although it is an ill advised act similar to playing with fire, or poking a sleeping bear, I missed the opportunity to antagonize Dad, but my disappointment did nothing to dampen any one else's spirits as they enjoyed the tension-less turkey. Norah and Justin ate the turkey with a zeal that surprised us all. They didn't even ask for pasta. We were also surprised that they like candied sweet potatoes...sort of, actually not all. They loved the toasted marshmallows on top and I routinely scolded them for swiping marshmallows with their sticky little fingers. My vocal pleas did nothing, but encourage them to giggle as they swiped more marshmallows. Perhaps the antagonist has become the antagonized. Mom used to threaten that, "Everything you do will come back twofold from your kids." Dang it, this is only the beginning, perhaps Mom was right.