Thanksgiving

In anticipating this holiday, and a whole week off work, I began to worry. Not in the sense that something would go wrong but in the sense of dread. Something horrible is coming...

We made 'alternate plans' for the holiday so it wouldn't be so obvious that we're missing Daddy and Grandma. The new plans included my Husband taking over ALL the cooking and moving the lunch celebration to our house.

Mom and I gave Husband a hard time for changing all the recipes, too. He didn't want to make "all the same stuff" that we always make. So, he chose new recipes from the Food Netork after lots of reading and researching online. He made:

Good Eats Roast Turkey

Sage, Sausage and Apple Dressing

Mashed Potatoes (with heavy cream!!! what?!?!?!)

Gina's Turnip Greens (ewwww!!!)

Rich Chocolate Pecan Pie

Turns out, all the items were awesome. Well, not the turnip greens. They smelled good but didn't taste as well as they smelled. And, there was an issue with the pecan pie. Husband didn't like the one that Eli and I made ("Looks burned," he said.) so he made another one - that "Looks burned," I said. Tasted the same, regardless.

Of course, I made pumpkin pies from real pumpkins and not puree'. Yummy! Eli even helped with some of the prep!! Good boy!

My brother showed up just before lunch and got to play with Eli a bit. Kit chose to stay with her sister at the lake but did send a neat bread cornucopia and jalepeno cornbread muffins.

All in all, it was a nice day. We missed Daddy and Grandma (and Kit, too) but this is our 'new normal.' As time passes, we are continuing to be more and more like Humpty Dumpty and putting ourselves back together again in a different, less welcome, way.

Uncle Terry was able to read books to Eli at night-time, to experience the towel cape after bath and get lots of love from (especially) the nephew! It was great to see!

Friday afternoon, on Terry's way back to the lake, we went to visit Daddy's grave. The cemetary is beautiful but it's just so far from us. We just can't get there on a regular basis. I find myself talking to Daddy when I'm sewing, giving Eli a bath or doing laundry. It's easier to talk to him wherever I am rather than going to the cemetary - nevermind that he isn't there. He's got a front row seat of all that's going on. I miss being able to call him with questions about anything and everything, telling him the latest funny thing that Eli has done, etc.

The dreaded event in my head didn't occur. It was just another event that the anticipation of being 'without' wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...does that make sense? Not that I miss Daddy or Grandma less, just that it was different than I thought it would be?
Happy Thanksgiving, ya'll!