our "non" traditional thanksgiving...

first of all, i have to say that my belly is so FULL right now that i just want to go to sleep!  but i am trying to stay awake...hence the blog update!  (and just as an aside, i was terribly ill on monday night with a stomach thing...blech!)

our thanksgiving this year was FAR from traditional for this family of five plus one (my FIL).  traditionally, we would just do turkey at our home...just us and my MIL.  sometimes, we would even do two turkey meals...one here and one at my MIL's.  this year, my nephew had the BIG idea to get all of us together for a HUGE feast!  sort of like a mini family reunion.  we knew my sister from colorado would not be able to make it, as well as my brother who lives in florida. but for the siblings that live in upstate NY, it would be a nice thing to do.  i thought it would be GRAND...just like in times past when we used to go to grandma's.  i guess my expectations were set a bit higher than i could reach (tee hee).

the idea started out well-intended, but soon got away from us.  my oldest sister and her daughter took on the job of making and sending out the invites.  the invitees (if that's even a word) were to be my sisters, our brother and i, our significant others, our children, and in the case of my two other sisters, their grandchildren.  for some reason, my oldest sister thought she would invite her husband's side of the family--ALL of them!!  yikes! 

first of all, i thought it was quite rude of her to just invite all of his family, when she knew this was supposed to be our family.  that would be like me inviting all of Hank's family, and my other sister inviting all of her significant other's family!!  ok...well i got over it.  but my sister J did not...and didn't even bother showing up.  my brother J didn't even bother responding to the invite!

secondly, Hank was making a smaller turkey...about 13lbs, and was told that someone else was going to make a turkey as well.  therefore, we would have more than enough turkey.  when thanksgiving day arrived however, that was not the case.  for some reason, i thought i had better call my oldest sister to see what the menu would be...on the invite it just said "pot luck."  as it turned out, ours was going to be the only turkey on the menu!!  so we were a bit frustrated to say the least, because had we known that, we would have made a larger turkey!

we arrived a bit late, but all the food was out and everyone seemed pleasant.  my BIL's family was quite large, and there were quite a few little ones running around.  there was a mixture of traditional & non-traditional fare...like spiral ham, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and eggplant parm!  to begin the meal, there was no prayer...just a welcome and a thank you to all who came and those who set up the hall/tables.  (our family said our own little praise prayer to God before we ate.)  the food was tastey, and i think everyone had plenty to eat.  however, i think Hank was a bit miffed that when he got up to get his share of the turkey, there were slim pickin's left.  i told him not to worry, that we were planning our own turkey meal for the next day.  i have to say, that although the meal was not as traditional as i would have liked it to be, it was nice spending time, and catching up, with my family.  however, we were all glad when it was time to go home!  i don't think i will do that again next year...but i suppose it was worth a try.

we were excited to have our "traditional" turkey day today!!  HOWEVER!!!  i don't think it was in the cards this year.  as we all sat quietly watching Kung Fu Panda last night, after our non-traditional meal, Hank took off literally running up the stairs to the bathroom!  i could hear him wretching violently from the living room!  oh no!!  he had gotten my stomach thing!  blech!   then during the night, Stephen also became ill...wretching up his dinner.  poor thing.  in the morning, my "traditional" turkey day was spent washing pukey linens and taking on the role of florence nightingale.  i called my MIL to warn her of the sickness in our home, but she decided she would come out anyway.   i cleaned and stuffed the bird and threw it in the oven.  i peeled and cut up the potatoes and sweet potatoes and started cooking them.  i also made glazed carrots with dried cranberries!  so yummy!  and with the gravy and desserts, there was more than enough food for the 7 of us.

as the food was cooking, Hank and Stephen were recovering and Nick and Jacob were playing games (not so quietly as i envisioned LOL).  i continued to play nurse & maid, as well as chief cook and bottle washer, when we got a phone call.  it was my MIL.  she was in a car accident!  oh no!  she was on her way here when she hit another car.  evidently, she looked away from the road for a second and SMASH!  oh boy do i know how that feels!!!  she called Hank to come take her home.  dinner was almost ready by then. 
so off he went like a good son & drove her car home (thank goodness it was driveable), and she drove his car.  on the way back, Hank stopped for movies and a hamburger at McDonald's!!  what!!??!!  that was very irritating to me!  not only was i cooking a turkey dinner, but a greasy hamburger is the LAST thing he needed after being sick! 

anyway, by the time he got back, things were cooling off.  i was so disheartened about the day and the meal that i just wanted to hide under the covers.  but i trudged along and made myself get through it for the boys.  you see, at their age, they don't see all the mishaps and misgruntles. they just happily go with the flow.  i was in amazement how nothing seemed to throw their day off...not the sickness, not the accident, not the cold food, not even the bad weather.  i have much to learn from those boys. 

so here i type...as my husband and FIL nap in their chairs and my boys play battleship and the wii...i am still thankful for my family and all that God has provided, even if it was a "non" traditional thanksgiving.