My Thanksgiving Reality
Submitted by lorimac_PC
This time of year, television advertisements turn to pictures of lovely families, all dressed up, sitting merrily around a big beautiful turkey and all the fixings. Not a family name calling argument can be heard, no hair pulling or dirty looks to be found. Each year, we go into this holiday with high expectations and come out of it wide eyed and frazzled.
In reality, the day always starts out with 14 trips to the grocery store because it never fails that I forgot an essential ingredient in the 450 things I have to cook! OK, that's a slight embellishment, but that's what if feels like! Then no matter how hard I tried, or how early I got up, the food never looks like that beautiful food on the front of Southern Living.
We get all dressed in our nice clothing and head out the door with the baby, his diaper bag, our camera, and all 450 plates of food. Something will inevitably spill all down the front of my shirt. After a short little trip we will pull in to Grandma's driveway with the baby screaming, the food leaking and the smell of deviled eggs invading the car.
Once we get to Grandma's we are greeted by a rush of hot air as my grandmother keeps her thermostat on 80 degrees. My beautiful sweater that I took so much care picking out has now turned into a food stained oven! To make matters worse, the house is filled with my uncle who feels that it's necessary to read the paper out loud to the entire gathering. My father, husband and all the cousins gather around a tiny 19 inch TV trying to watch the game and a snotty nosed brat who keeps insisting on telling me that I am getting fat!
We eat dinner and there is always a fight about who cleaned uncle John's cemetery plot last or is going to have the drumstick.
When the dust finally settles, and all bellies are full, we pack up the baby and head out to do it all over again with my husband's family. The holidays in my world are never picture postcard perfect, but they are MY holidays, and I wouldn't have them any other way! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
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