Yesterday was a crazy, jam-packed day for me. I had not one, not two, but THREE Thanksgivings to attend. In addition to the branch's annual turkey bowl game in the morning. Gotta love gettin all down and dirty with your friends in a rousing game of flag football.
All three thanksgivings were a blast. I always love seeing my sisters, parents, nieces and nephew. It's never a dull moment when we're all together. I think my favorite part was Jaime, Jennifer, Chris and Trae openly discussing how important "test driving" the car before you take it home (aka having sex before you get married) is. Followed by my brother-in-law Trae cracking on my sister Jaime about trading up or trading in his car. My sister, of course, lashing back on how she's the best car around and my other brother-in-law Chris asking her how many times she had been driven before? Trae proceeded to add my personal favorite crack of the day -- "Well that would explain why she's so worn out". I LOVED IT! Trae is normally a pretty quiet guy. And Jaime, well, she and I are a lot alike....meaning that we are normally the ones heard and not seen. Seriously, don't you just feel the love!? My sisters and I are good at one thing at family events-- making sarcastic comments about one another. And then seeing my nieces, Allyson and Charleigh, and my nephew, Hunter is always so much fun. They are the cutest kids ever (I'm not biased in any way...). Allyson loves seeing me. She always comes and sits on my lap, plays with (and in turn messes up) my hair. I love them so much. I can't wait to see them grow up. I'll be especially interested to see what kind of girl Charleigh turns out to be -- just knowing the dynamic woman my sister is -- Charleigh will probably be a pretty smart cookie. And Ally and Hunter will, of course, be athletic. Chris wouldn't have it any other way.
Here's a picture of Charleigh.
And then it was off to my Aunt Edith's. This was my first Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family for 12 years. I drove there by myself (for those who know me know that's a pretty big deal...it is over an hour away). I wasn't nervous at all. It was actually weird how not nervous I was. I had already been to the reunion so it wasn't that bad. It was great to see everyone. Aunt Edith's house looked exactly as I remembered it. After a long winding, but incredibly beautiful drive in the countryside of southern Indiana, you end up at the top of the hill at her driveway. I immediately smelled the cool country air with a warm hint of a fireplace burning as I got out of my car. I could smell that smell all day. There is always a GIANT spread of homemade goodness on the huge dining room table and a whole table dedicated to desserts. We went on a walk down to the farm, where I proceeded to see how close I could get to a straggling goat...he didn't like me very much. Then we walked out past the pastures to meet up with the boys who were playing with their guns. I took a few shots myself. I don't know how I feel about having that much power in my hands. :)
I liked it...and it kind of gave me a weird feeling that I liked it so much. Then we made the trek back...and Leighanne didn't want to walk in all the mud again, so we went around the woods, over a fence, and through the pasture back to the house. I love the country -- that is now a fact. It's so peaceful and beautiful.
So back at the house I found myself the only one there who didn't have a parent, brother or sister somewhere around to talk to...so I spent a few quiet moments looking around at my family that I had missed for so long. And I just felt at peace. I felt completely quiet inside. I caught my Aunt Edith (she is my grandmother's sister -- but was very close in age to my mother, so she was raised by my grandmother therefore being more like a sister to my mom) looking at me a time or two. I wondered what she was thinking. Maybe she was just thinking about how much I looked like my mom. I guess I might never know. I got beat miserably in a game of Euchere. And caught up with Sarah, my cousin, and it was so nice. I didn't want to leave.
But I had to because I still had one more place to go. So I journeyed back to Indy and went over to my last stop. My mom's best friend's house. Lana has been more of a second mom to me throughout my life. She held me when I was born before my own father. She bought my first pair of designer jeans when I was a baby and she's always been there. She is the closest thing I have to my mom. She's a lot like her. She was the one person who always stuck by my mom's side through thick and thin. I will be eternally grateful to her for being there for my mom and I. She is a fantastic cook (again, just like my mom) and she always makes two things I can count on that I don't get anywhere else -- homemade noodles and broccoli and cheese casserole. OMG. SO GOOD. So I ate my fill, watched a few hands of poker, rocked out on guitar hero and visited for a while. I don't know if they are quite as excited as I am about my venture out west for school...but I hope they warm up to the idea someday.
I have so much to be grateful for. I finally retired to my home at a little after midnight. Now I get to go seat all the hungry people downtown who want Spaghetti before the tree lighting or amidst their black friday shopping spree.
It's officially CHRISTMAS SEASON!!! WOOT!
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