Good Morning! Well, the 4:00 am thing didn’t exactly work
out for me this morning. I drank entirely too much caffeinated sweet tea last
night, to be able to fall asleep early enough, to be able to wake up at four. I
think I hit the snooze button at least five times before I actually got out of
bed.
We all went to my son’s house yesterday. He and his
girlfriend Alex hosted the Dallas vs. Giants football party this time around.
Let me tell you, sixteen people in that tiny Cape Cod is an experience. There
were people everywhere. It was a noisy ruckus, with a lot of yelling and laughing,
and for the folks watching the game, even a little bit of cursing… on both
sides. It was a house divided almost equally of Giants fans and Cowboys fans
and Food fans (several were there just for the food and family and could care
less about football). It was nice not being grossly outnumbered for once, but I
didn’t even watch the game. For some reason this season, when I watch, my
Giants lose. Unfortunately yesterday, I poked my head in to sneak a peek at the
end, and well, y’all know how that turned out…
While all that rowdiness was going on in the living room,
Alex was running around making food, serving food, cleaning up food, making and
serving more food. I kept asking if she wanted help and she kept saying, “No,
it’s ok. I got it,” but you could tell she was getting tired. She and my son
had been busting their butts for days preparing for the party. I finally
managed to nudge her out of the way so I could at least wash some dishes for
her.
I get it. I remember what it was like when I hosted my first
parties when I was young. I wanted to do everything, but then, with age I came
to realize some of my guests actually felt more welcome if they were allowed to
help when they offered to help. Did it really matter if the carrots went in the
wrong section of the cru de te dish or if the cheese was in squares instead of
cracker sized rectangles? No, it didn’t, and when I realized that, parties went
a lot smoother. Helping made my guests happy, and it helped me. When Alex gets
a few more parties under her belt, I’m sure she’ll come to the same conclusion.
In the meantime, I just keep offering to help, and do the dishes when she’s not
looking.
I spent quite a bit of time chatting with my son’s friend
Mike’s girlfriend Ashley last night. I had met her briefly in October, and she
seemed nice, but we didn’t really have time to talk then. Well, we did last
night, and she confirmed my first impressions. She is nice. I’m glad Mike has
found a great girl, and I’m glad we get along with her. This is especially
helpful since my son informed me last night that Mike and Ashley will be
joining us for Thanksgiving.
Actually, I’m thrilled they’re coming. I’ll confess now, I
was kinda depressed when I thought I was only hosting Thanksgiving for nine
this year. Heck, I could have nine for dinner on a random Tuesday night. There’s
nothing special about that, and Thanksgiving should be special. So, now with
Mike and Ashley coming, arrangements made so my aunt and uncle are now coming
(my uncle had shoulder surgery and wouldn’t have been able to drive), that
brings us up to thirteen. All I’m waiting on now is to hear if our friends Barb
and John are coming. If so, that puts us at fifteen, and for me, makes it feel
more like a holiday. True it’s half the number I used to host for Thanksgiving,
but I’ll take it.
So here’s the game plan I came up with for the next three
days. I get up early, do my blog while my daughter gets ready for school, write
like a fiend from the time my husband leaves for work and my daughter comes
home from her half day at school, then me and my daughters tackle one room each
day – family room today, living room tomorrow, kitchen Wednesday, which will
leave only the bathroom to clean on Thursday. If I stick to this plan there is
a slim chance I may hit the 50K. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.
I hope you have a great day and happy writing!
Your Last Challenge
was:
From the moment I boarded the plane
this morning and during the entire drive from the airport, I could barely sit
still, which I’m sure made me one of the guy I was sitting next to on the plane’s
favorite person. I’m sorry, but I was so excited. It has been years since I
have been in the position to be able to come home for Thanksgiving. Either
money was too tight or things were just too crazy at work and I couldn’t get
away; two years, I wasn’t even in the country during Thanksgiving.
I’ve seen the family over the years. I’d
meet up with them during my travels or they would come and stay with me for a
few days, but this was the first time in forever we would all be under one
roof.
As I pulled up in front of my parents’
house, the first thing I notice is my dad painted. For my entire life, we have had
a white house with blue shutters. Now we have a blue house with white shutters.
My folks are getting wild and crazy in
their golden years. Dad’s going to get a kick out of the fact I had to
double check the address to make sure I had pulled up in front of the right
house.
I gather my luggage, headed inside and
stop in my tracks. Gone were the beige walls, gone was the shabby furniture,
and what replaced it looked like it had been torn from the pages of Country
Living. The transformation was astounding. Maybe
this isn’t the right house.
“Honey your home!” Mom squealed and
wrapped me in a fierce hug.
Your
Next Challenge is:
The Black Friday experience…
You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong,
just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to
criticize what someone else has written. Go.
No comments:
Post a Comment