• entries
    131
  • comments
    383
  • views
    53,299

The Holiday, My Birthday and Cookie's Birthday....Quite A Week


lydiacevedo

870 views

Whew! When one hears the words "four day weekend," one typically thinks "oh how wonderful, time to get a little extra R&R!" That "one" doesn't live in my world. LOL

 

The office closed for the weekend at 3:30 on Wednesday. No one had to report back to work until this morning. At about 8 pm, Wednesday evening, I closed my logged off the company's remote server and closed my laptop for the "weekend," thinking my work was done. I had forgotten all of the things I still had to do for the Thanksgiving holiday and post-Thanksgiving activities. Silly Lydi!

 

SO, after realizing I hadn't gone grocery shopping for the wherewithal to bake green bean casserole or pumpkin pie for the next day, I ran out to the grocery. Oh my Lord, what a madhouse that was at Walmart, on Thanksgiving Eve at 8:30 pm. It was almost as bad as if it were Black Friday. Remind me never to THAT again!

 

2 hours later, I managed to come through the door once again. Garion, God love his heart, had taken it upon himself to make dinner in my absence. I was so grateful for a plate covered in press-n-seal and left in the microwave that I don't even remember what he made. All I know is that it was, once reheated, hot, tasty, and something I hadn't had to make. As I ate, I silently thanked God for my oldest boy at that moment. And after eating, any plans I had of staying up to bake went flying right out the window. I called it a night, set the alarm, and settled into bed, thinking I would get up as if it were a work day, bake that morning and make it over to my best friend, Mike's house by 10 am to help him dress the turkey and get it in the roaster. Mike is pretty good at following a recipe, but who has ever refused an extra set of hands Thanksgiving morning, and this was the first holiday he had ever hosted.

 

Along about then, my phone rang. It was Mike, wanting to know if I had a stock pot large enough to float a 16# turkey in, to brine overnight. Um, sorry, nope. Besides, I informed him, I have never brined a turkey in all the years I've hosted Thanksgiving and the white meat has never been dry. So, he asked me what my secret was. Simple, I answered, roast the turkey breast down for the first hour. OK, he'd go with that instead of brining because he didn't want to go to Walmart at that hour on Thanksgiving eve. I told him that was a good call and then asked if the turkey was going into a roaster, could I go ahead and bake at his place the next day? That would give me a couple of hours extra sleep. "Sure," he answered. We said good night and I called it a day.

 

But I forgot to turn off the alarm, so, 6:30 am, like any other week day, the alarm goes off. I was raised on a farm. If the sun is starting to come up when your eyes open, you don't close them again. You get out of bed and get to doing chores, so, needless to say, with light in the sky finding its way between the slats of the blinds at my window, I was up for the day. So much for the extra sleep. If I'm up, Cookie Monster is up, so one trip to the yard later, he was happily munching dry kibble for breakfast, I was blessing the speed with which a Keurig turns out single mugs of steaming hot coffee. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for that Christmas gift a couple of years back!

 

Then, of course, I didn't know what to do with myself until 9 am, so I listened to the news broadcast, made and remade a list of things not to forget to take with me to do the baking, packed and repacked those items, according to each of the lists and planned about 6 different outfits for the day in my head. Then, I jumped into the shower and, standing in my closet, trying to get dressed, turned down each of the outfits I had planned out, settling, instead, on a simple black, lightweight tunic and matching palazzo pants. If there is one thing I have learned, post stroke, it is that comfort is every bit as important as fashion, maybe more so. So, dressed, hair dried and put into 2 low pony tails, it was now 9 am and it's normally a 45 minute drive to Mike's place, so I loaded up the car, loaded Cookie Monster into the car, said "happy Thanksgiving" to the kids who were headed to Tessa's parents' house for the weekend, and off we went.

 

Oops! With o traffic on the streets, that 45 minute drive turned into a 25 minute drive, putting me at Mike's house 35 minutes early. I knocked on the door anyway and was met with "you're early." My reply, "I'm always early, unless I call to say I'll be late." "True," was his come back as he stepped back from the door to let us in the house. Out of the bedroom ran Maggie, Mike's dachshund, barking a "good morning to me and Cookie Monster. Maggie doesn't, typically, like large dogs, but she makes an exception for Cookie, since he isn't a fan of them either and believes he and Maggie are the same size. The only problem they have with that belief is when Cookie, a 77# American Bulldog mix, tries to follow a 14# Maggie through her doggie door, into the back yard. Only his head fits and he ends up backing out and paring to be let into the yard with her. That morning was no exception.

 

We let them out and I turned to Mike asking, "So, have you dressed the turkey so it is ready to put into the roaster?" After a few seconds blank stare I got "Huh? What?" "Have you dressed the turkey?" "Is it going some place I don't know about? It's dead. WHy does it need to wear clothes?" "Oh Sweety, grab a cup of coffee and wake up. Dressing the turkey means taking out the giblet bag, rubbing it with seasoning, and greasing it up so that it browns in the roaster. I'm guessing you haven't done any of that and it is now 9:46." "Are you kidding, I just woke up." Ok, you have your coffee,I'll take care of the bird." Turns out it was a good thing I had gotten there early. About 15 minutes later, I placed the turkey, breast side down, into the roaster, closed the lid and started it on it's way. "Thank you, I didn't count on prep time when I figured the bird needed to go into the roaster at 10." No problem, what is your best friend for if not to save you from turkey mishaps on your first Thanksgiving dinner? The timing for the rest of the dishes went much more smoothly the rest of the morning, with friends arriving and by 2 pm, we sat down to a fantastic looking, smelling and tasting meal. The rest of the evening was spent just getting to hang out and watching the Macy's parade that Mike had thought to record on the DVR for later, since there was a lot of activity going on while it ran that morning. We never miss the parade. Cookie and Maggie, by 7:30, were completely passed out on the living room floor, stuffed to the doggie brims with dog food and people food because everyone in attendance was a big softy who, as long as the dogs didn't actually beg, were perfectly happy to "accidentally" drop something under the table for them, as well as let them have the "tail ends" of things as we were cleaning up. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled puppies. Good thing Thanksgiving is only once a year.....as is Christmas, Easter, Mike's birthday, my birthday, New Year's Eve.....you get the picture. How those dogs are not grossly overweight I can only say must be thanks to the time they spend running the yard, patrolling for feral cats and other intruders. LOL

 

Home by 9, and though we had a great time, very glad to be able to tuck us into bed for an early night, with the house all to ourselves.......3....2....1....."Hi, mom, we didn't go to Titusville, Tessa's mom is sick." In walk the kids. "We did bring a lot of food back from Tessa's grandmother's place though. Are you hungry? Can you help me find room in the fridge, please?" A mother's work is never done. By 11, I was in my room, Cookie and Darcy, 1 of the kids' 2 cats, curled up on the foot of the bed, ready to call it a night.....3....2....1 "YEEEEEOOOOOOWL!" from behind the closed door as Pip, cat #2 makes it known that he is on the wrong side of my bedroom door. Fine, I let him with the warning that if he starts trouble or makes noise, he will find himself unceremoniously tossed into the living room, onto the couch and out of my room for the night.......3.....2.....1....."Dammit Pip!" The little stinker has decided to play "bedmouse" with MY FEET!!! Some days I doubt that animal is going to make it to his first birthday. Thursday night was one of those times, as I snatched him up by the scruff, gave him 1 firm shake, told him "NO," and unceremoniously tossed him into the living room, and onto the couch before closing my door and getting back into bed. Pip managed to engage his brain enough to decide it wouldn't be a good idea to bother Gal'i (Cherokee word for Grandma) the rest of the night. FINALLY! I settled in and went to sleep.

 

Friday.......Friday......no working, even remotely. The office is closed. I don't do Black Friday shopping, no matter what, so why the heck are my eyes open at 7 am when I turned off the alarm? Even Cookie looked at me as if to say "I'll go outside later. The bed is soft and warm, and I had a long day, yesterday." I'm glad one of us was able to sleep in! It wasn't me. So, I said "good morning" to Mr. Keurig, heated up something that could be vaguely counted as "breakfasty" from the day before, came back into the bedroom and put in holiday movies in the DVD. Some time around 11, the kids got up, so I gave them a couple of hours to become fully awake and human, then grabbed my golf clubs and announced I was going to the driving range for a couple hours, leaving Cookie home with them. "Ok, have fun! Wear a sweater, it's cold out there today (for FLorida). Off I went. 3 hours and about 160 golfballs later, I headed back home, tired, but tired on my terms. The rest of Friday was pretty much straight forward, dinner, a movie with Tessa - it's become a weekly thing for the 2 of us, sitting in the middle of my bed, with a big bowl of popcorn, watching a "chick-flick," or some other movie that Garion has absolutely no interest in. I look forward to Friday movie nights with Tessa all week. I just wish I could get my daughter, Laney to come over and joins us. Well, maybe after the baby is here. Laney is a sucker for time spent with babies.

 

Saturday was spent asa Saturdays typically are - picking up the house, doing laundry, running errands, grocery shopping and the like and it felt good to be back to the normal routine, if a little odd that I had been off work for 3 days now, and it was only Saturday. I kept thinking it was Sunday.

 

Sunday.....the 4th anniversary of the day Cookie Monster first came into the world, and the 46th anniversary of the day I made my first appearance. He seemed to know something was going on. I woke to a text from Mike of "what time am I meeting you to go to dinner?" and a very waggy-tailed Cookie Monster panting at the foot of the bed. One trip to the yard, and we were back in front of the food bowl and the keurig machine. I should note, here, tat weekends are the only days I drink coffee, as a rule, so on day 4 of getting up and making myself a cup, I was starting to wonder if I wasn't forming a new habit. Well, I am happy to say that, today, back to the Monday through Friday routine, I have not missed coffee any. But back to Sunday.

 

We weren't due to leave for my parents' house for birthday dinner until 1, so, as I am making the bed, something Mike calls a "useless exercise," my phone rings. It is the Prodigal Son. I haven't seen nor spoken with my youngest son, not for lack of trying, Logan in about 3 years, and only know anything about what he is up to from his brother and sister. So I was a little surprised to see his name on the id of my phone. But I answered and we had a very pleasant conversation for about 40 minutes, in which he promised to come spend a weekend soon, and we caught up on each other's lives. I didn't say anything about not seeing him. I've kept lines of communication open to him all this time, trusting that, like the young man in the bible parable, he, too, would wander home one day and I would, as the father in the story did, meet him with open arms and a warm hug. Make a child feel guilty for not coming home more and they are less and less likely to even try. BUT, just love them and be happy when they do come home, they are more likely to repeat that visit. I rather run the chances of him wanting to visit than not to. He'll understand, one day, when he has grown kids of his own.

 

1 pm, Mike turns up, actually on time, for a change. I druve him nuts, always being early. He drives me nuts, usually being late. It must have been his gift to me, to turn up on time today. LOL I'll take it. Of course, for having grown up in a home where his mother has always been early, Garion seems to never have quite gotten that lesson. So, at 1:45, we were loaded up and on our way to my parents' house, an actual hour away. Still, no stress. We didn't have to be there until 3, but knowing that Garion will be late to his own funeral, I gave them a departure time earlier than needs be. We arrived at somewhere between 2:30 and 2:45, right on time, by my calculations. Laney and Kevin, her long-time boyfriend, showed up around 3:30. *sigh* why can't my kids get this timing thing down? DInner was what family dinners at my mother's house always are - a lot of joking and teasing in good fun, over some really good food, with stories from when all of us, me included, were little. Throw a stand-up comic (Mike) into the mix, and you don't know whether your sides and stomach hurt from to much food, or too much laughter. And, when there are 4 strong and independent women, all of whom can be called "well endowed" are sitting around the table, with one of them being 7 months pregnant, the topic of conversations is going to turn to things of a feminine nature. Sunday's topic was well fitting support garment and where one could or could not find them in odd sizes and with closures that made it easy for stroke survivors and back surgery survivors to work them. At one point, Laney were lamenting the lack of sizes to accommodate a larger cup, and smaller back size, my mentioning a 36 double D, while Laney trumped me with a 36 H. Not to be left out, Mike chimes in with "do you how hard it is to find a 36 B at the Duluth Trading Company?" Which set off a round of roaring laughter. He's definitely my best friend for a reason.

 

After dinner, a walk for Cookie Monster, and a cigarette break for Mike and Kevin, we were all enjoying desert when my mother pipes up "Should we sing to you?" To quote a line from the Big Bang Theory, I replied "Have you taken a marajuana?" So my mother turns to the kids and says, "Come kids, we're gonna sing Happy Birthday to your mother." There was about a split second's total silence while the kids tried to determine if Grammy was serious or kidding, and if she was serious, how badly would I kill them for doing it. No one sang. So, trying to egg them on my mother made another attempt and then asked Garion why he wasn't going to sing. "It's mom's birthday and I'm respecting her wishes today...." "If on no other day of the year, right?" came my reply, met with another round of laughter. Then Tessa looks at Garion and says," it's one thing not to want to sing to your mother, but to sit here and lie, like that to her about respecting her wishes......." more uproarious laughter! We all knew it was one long joke, which just made it all the funnier to us, since my kids were, none of them, the types to rebel or disobey. In fact, growing up, they never even once broke curfew. Then we all settled into our own little conversations - Laney and Tessa in the recliners, Garion and Kevin on the couch, Mom, Dad, Mike and me at the table, Cookie Monster laying between the girls getting his belly rubbed. My mom looked across the room, at one point, and said "it's such a shame that we can't all get together and just spend a relaxing evening enjoying each other's company." Yes, sarcasm runs rampant and is razor sharp in my family.

 

Once back home from my parents', organized for the coming work week, and settled into the bed watching tv for the night, Garion and Tessa came in to say good night and give both Cookie and me one last "Happy Birthday" wish, but stayed to watch a couple of past year's "Larry the Cable Guy" christmas specials that were on, then, last hugs, lights out, and up to Garion's first day at a new job this morning, and Cookie and me back in the office after a 4 day mini-vacation. All in all, we had a good, if protracted, Thanksgiving holiday, willed with love, laughter, family, friends, and everything I am putting down in this blog so that I will have something to come back to and look at later, to help spark the memory.

 

I hope everyone else had just as warm and loving a holiday as I did, and that we'll all have as good a Christmas/Chanukah/Yule/Kwanzaa, or other winter holiday. I'm sure I will have something to post before then, but if not, know that everyone is in my heart and my prayers. As this is "officially" the start of the winter holiday season, Happy Holidays!

2 Comments


Recommended Comments

Thanks Lydi for the four day vacation run down.  Life is so good sometimes and we need to appreciate that.  I am a great distance from my kids and know Christmas day it will be just me until 6pm so I look back on those family times with a lot of longing.  Thanks for sharing yours with us, i hope the new holiday you celebrate is just as good for you.

 

Sue.

Link to comment

Lydi: Happy Thanksgiving-belated and Good For You! Wonderful holiday and such enjoyment with family and Cookie. Rock on baby! Debbie

Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.