My description of this year's Thanksgiving weekend--a fabulous, fun-filled, friend and family frenzy. We set a record for the number of people gathered for dinner (56) and even added a few more for pie. Our habit for decades has been to open our home for any family and friends who want to gather and/or don't have any family in town. We were thrilled to have so many join us this year! The weather was perfect for the annual football game and gave everyone a chance to get out and run off the meal. I suspect, however, that the old guys were calling huddles just to catch their breath. (Light and Mendo, you remember how cold it was when you were here that we even had trouble keeping warm by the bonfire--this year was warm and I didn't even wear a coat when I went out to take pictures!)
For some people it is strange that anyone would not live near their relatives and for others it is the norm. We discovered that out of the 9 couples present (18 of us) only 2 were actually born in Wisconsin. Even more surprising was realizing that 7 of us were born and/or raised in California. We felt like a real example of the mobility that is available in our modern society.
On Friday, we planned some meals, activities, and game times for our immediate family and one of the highlights was having Bryce produce and direct some lip sync videos. Most of them will remain private and be enjoyed only by the ones who are now regretting letting their inhibitions run away with them. This one, however, shouldn't embarrass anyone and was our favorite of the bunch.
4 comments:
Sounds lovely but how do you plan for such an event? How many turkeys were roasted? How do you stay calm through it all?
Planning--I plan for 20 and multiply by 3. There were 4 of us bringing the majority of the food so we each just did a lot of one thing. For instance, I made 4 cranberry-apple salads (had almost one left over) and a quadruple batch of stuffing (had about 1.5 cups left). We had three turkeys and actually had enough leftover for turkey-rice soup on Friday.
Preparation and a good sense of humor are the key to staying calm. I made out a list the week before and just plugged away at it. It kept the kids focused on what they needed to do, too. Whatever would "go wrong" was likely not going to ruin anyone's life and our main objective was to enjoy the day and the fellowship. So we did!
I just have to say that I have just wiped tears from my eyes.. I was laughing so hard... I didn't hurt that I am VERY familiar with that song... morning show I used to listen to in Detroit has it's own version. Not sure who was funniest... needless to say you know how to have fun.
Thanks for sharing.
Lynn
Cindy,
I would like you to know that your blog brings a smile to my face every week, also a tear.. whether in sadness or in laughter..
Thank you so much for sharing the experiences that many of us probably couldn't handle!
God bless,
Kelsey
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