Which Thanksgiving Are You..?*
I don't know about all of you but I'm pretty sure that it has to be the same, if not SIMILAR for most large families around this time of year.
Around ANY holiday for that matter...
Allow me to share with you all OUR version of Thanksgiving.
CRAZY LARGE (Italian/insert ethnicity of your choice here) FAMILY THANKSGIVING
Week leading up to said holiday:
My mother is already complaining about all the shopping she'll have to do, how much money it's going to cost & how NOBODY ever helps her, etc... blah blah blah
My father will acknowledge that my mom is somewhat annoyed but do his best to find OTHER things to occupy himself so as to dodge bullets of gravy here & turkey there & how much stuffing should we make EVERYWHERE!
Night before said holiday:
I do my best to make myself useful and peel anything & everything that needs peeling,
help with the prep work and even make two dishes myself to contribute to said holiday.
This year it was corn muffin stuffin' (recipe to follow later),
and my Nonna's ricotta cake.
My mother, STILL STRESSING, is most likely yelling at me about something,
(about anything really), and bitching that
"I'M NOT GOING TO DO THIS NEXT YEAR,
I MEAN IT AMY,
THIS IS THE LAST YEAR WE'RE HAVING THANKSGIVING!"
(keep in mind, she makes this announcement EVERY year...)
Thanksgiving Day:
Phone rings early in the morning informing me that I must turn my oven on to accommodate extra turkey to feed all the people who will be arriving at 1pm'ish...
Stove turned on,
made & enjoyed a quiet breakfast with my daughter,
then I get Ruby ready
& proceed to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv.
Phone rings again:
"Amy did you make sure you put the stove on? It needs to be HOT FOR THE TURKEY!"
"No Ma, I didn't put it on, I thought we were putting the turkey in the freezer?"
(apparently not funny if you're my mother... I THOUGHT it was FUNNY!)
Resist the urge to hang up on her & instead politely reply: "Yes mom, I made sure to put the oven on, it's good & hot now. Anytime you want to send Dad up with the turkey, feel free..." *click*
Back to the parade, half of which I would've have missed if not for TiVo.
(ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR DAMMIT!)
Ruby asks if she can go downstairs & play with Nonno... ok, let's go.
Bring child downstairs to play with her grandfather who is still perfecting his 'dodge the bullet' skills, granddaughter makes for a perfect shield, so he happily agrees.
I come back upstairs to finish enjoying the parade & then contemplate a shower.
Phone rings again: "Amy, have you showered yet? PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE HERE SOON AND YOU BETTER BE DOWN HERE & READY, I DON'T WANT YOU HIDING UPSTAIRS ALL DAY OR BEING ON THAT DAMN COMPUTER OF YOURS!"
(again resist overwhelming burning desire to hang up the phone & instead say:)
"Mom,
I'm about to shower right now but I can't do that if I'm on the phone with you,
can I?"
Tell TiVo to record what's left of my pathetic attempt at parade enjoyment,
and head on into the shower.
Shower
& dress
& makeup
& ready for the day others call 'Thanksgiving'
but WE KNOW AS:
CHAOS with a capital LOUD GROUP OF ITALIANS
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS RELATIVES.
Ok, then I got to thinking that not EVERY ONE'S thanksgiving can be like this, there have to be some people who, wake up to a quiet house, take their time getting ready, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee & uninterrupted parade & head to SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE to eat & then nap.
(everyone does nap after dinner, right? It's not just me?)
Anyhoo... those people would be SINGLE PEOPLE WITH NO CHILDREN!
How do I know this?
BECAUSE I USED TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!
Currently,
my friend Kristen is one of those lucky few who gets to sleep till they naturally wake up,
got to enjoy their morning cup of whatever caffeinated beverage they prefer,
took their TIME in a nice long hot shower,
and I'm guessing not ONCE did their phone ring with an angry mother at the other end.
That is henceforth known as SINGLES THANKSGIVING!
Then, there are those who are married with kids who moved away & now have to spend most of today TRAVELING to said homes of chaos & food in order to make the 'rounds'.
My dear friend Jen is one of those families.
She has to get up, get herself ready, be sure she's gotten her husband everything he needs to start his day, properly pack not only the car but the diaper bag with anything/everything they might need for either themselves OR their son, and then drive FIRST to his families house & eat and JUST ABOUT THE TIME WHEN A NAP WOULD BE IN ORDER, they'll have to get up, pack everything back into various bags, diaper or otherwise, and get back on the road to now visit HER families home for more food, still no nap and Polish chaos.
All with a smile on her face & all with a baby (happy or otherwise) in tow.
THIS IS NOW GOING TO BE DUBBED' :
MARRIED WITH CHILD & VISITING VARIOUS FAMILIES
THANKSGIVING
LOL
So, again, I ask all of you, WHICH THANKSGIVING ARE YOU?
And please don't skimp on the details, those are the BEST PART!
(especially the honest, gritty, unpleasant ones!)
hehehehe
*(more later,
after I have reached a point of physically REMOVING MYSELF
from the chaos that awaits me downstairs...)
Around ANY holiday for that matter...
Allow me to share with you all OUR version of Thanksgiving.
CRAZY LARGE (Italian/insert ethnicity of your choice here) FAMILY THANKSGIVING
Week leading up to said holiday:
My mother is already complaining about all the shopping she'll have to do, how much money it's going to cost & how NOBODY ever helps her, etc... blah blah blah
My father will acknowledge that my mom is somewhat annoyed but do his best to find OTHER things to occupy himself so as to dodge bullets of gravy here & turkey there & how much stuffing should we make EVERYWHERE!
Night before said holiday:
I do my best to make myself useful and peel anything & everything that needs peeling,
help with the prep work and even make two dishes myself to contribute to said holiday.
This year it was corn muffin stuffin' (recipe to follow later),
and my Nonna's ricotta cake.
My mother, STILL STRESSING, is most likely yelling at me about something,
(about anything really), and bitching that
"I'M NOT GOING TO DO THIS NEXT YEAR,
I MEAN IT AMY,
THIS IS THE LAST YEAR WE'RE HAVING THANKSGIVING!"
(keep in mind, she makes this announcement EVERY year...)
Thanksgiving Day:
Phone rings early in the morning informing me that I must turn my oven on to accommodate extra turkey to feed all the people who will be arriving at 1pm'ish...
Stove turned on,
made & enjoyed a quiet breakfast with my daughter,
then I get Ruby ready
& proceed to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv.
Phone rings again:
"Amy did you make sure you put the stove on? It needs to be HOT FOR THE TURKEY!"
"No Ma, I didn't put it on, I thought we were putting the turkey in the freezer?"
(apparently not funny if you're my mother... I THOUGHT it was FUNNY!)
Resist the urge to hang up on her & instead politely reply: "Yes mom, I made sure to put the oven on, it's good & hot now. Anytime you want to send Dad up with the turkey, feel free..." *click*
Back to the parade, half of which I would've have missed if not for TiVo.
(ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR DAMMIT!)
Ruby asks if she can go downstairs & play with Nonno... ok, let's go.
Bring child downstairs to play with her grandfather who is still perfecting his 'dodge the bullet' skills, granddaughter makes for a perfect shield, so he happily agrees.
I come back upstairs to finish enjoying the parade & then contemplate a shower.
Phone rings again: "Amy, have you showered yet? PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE HERE SOON AND YOU BETTER BE DOWN HERE & READY, I DON'T WANT YOU HIDING UPSTAIRS ALL DAY OR BEING ON THAT DAMN COMPUTER OF YOURS!"
(again resist overwhelming burning desire to hang up the phone & instead say:)
"Mom,
I'm about to shower right now but I can't do that if I'm on the phone with you,
can I?"
Tell TiVo to record what's left of my pathetic attempt at parade enjoyment,
and head on into the shower.
Shower
& dress
& makeup
& ready for the day others call 'Thanksgiving'
but WE KNOW AS:
CHAOS with a capital LOUD GROUP OF ITALIANS
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS RELATIVES.
Ok, then I got to thinking that not EVERY ONE'S thanksgiving can be like this, there have to be some people who, wake up to a quiet house, take their time getting ready, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee & uninterrupted parade & head to SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE to eat & then nap.
(everyone does nap after dinner, right? It's not just me?)
Anyhoo... those people would be SINGLE PEOPLE WITH NO CHILDREN!
How do I know this?
BECAUSE I USED TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!
Currently,
my friend Kristen is one of those lucky few who gets to sleep till they naturally wake up,
got to enjoy their morning cup of whatever caffeinated beverage they prefer,
took their TIME in a nice long hot shower,
and I'm guessing not ONCE did their phone ring with an angry mother at the other end.
That is henceforth known as SINGLES THANKSGIVING!
Then, there are those who are married with kids who moved away & now have to spend most of today TRAVELING to said homes of chaos & food in order to make the 'rounds'.
My dear friend Jen is one of those families.
She has to get up, get herself ready, be sure she's gotten her husband everything he needs to start his day, properly pack not only the car but the diaper bag with anything/everything they might need for either themselves OR their son, and then drive FIRST to his families house & eat and JUST ABOUT THE TIME WHEN A NAP WOULD BE IN ORDER, they'll have to get up, pack everything back into various bags, diaper or otherwise, and get back on the road to now visit HER families home for more food, still no nap and Polish chaos.
All with a smile on her face & all with a baby (happy or otherwise) in tow.
THIS IS NOW GOING TO BE DUBBED' :
MARRIED WITH CHILD & VISITING VARIOUS FAMILIES
THANKSGIVING
LOL
So, again, I ask all of you, WHICH THANKSGIVING ARE YOU?
And please don't skimp on the details, those are the BEST PART!
(especially the honest, gritty, unpleasant ones!)
hehehehe
*(more later,
after I have reached a point of physically REMOVING MYSELF
from the chaos that awaits me downstairs...)
7 comments:
I am the Drive-500-Miles-through-Various-Traffic-Jams-to-get-to-Dinner-at-My-Mom's-only-to-have-there-be-Major-Family-Drama-right-after-Grace-is-said-type-of-Thanksgiving. Good times.
Oh, and I think I need the recipe for that ricotta cake!
I'm the married with child person who cooks Thanksgiving dinner for the in-laws. Yeah... uh huh... good times here, too.
Well, you know my story. Husband always had to work the holidays and I was the "felt like" single mother with 2 kids running around on EVERY holiday expected to show at EVERY household, which I might add was 3 places!! All this with 2 kids, diaper bags, food, and on Christmas tons of bags of presents. So, I guess I'm the married with kids Thanksgiving "86" the husband!!!
Kris
I'm the never had any family to spend Thanksgiving with :(
We are the Married with kids but no family in the area so we spend a relaxing day with friends who also have kids but no family in the area. It works REALLY well!!! No stress, good food, good naps, a few early phone calls home and it's done! I love it!
I'm the single childless Thanksgiving. We all go to my mom's house. It's great. Just a tiny bit of drama cuz my mom sounds like your mom. But we get her back in check and remind her how she WANTS to do this every year and then we're all cool.
I don't expect it to change much with the addition of Mia. Just another person to get ready in the morning, that's all. :)
We are the married with children thanksgiving, but luckily we only have to cross a street. No guilt trip necessary! My mother in law is the best, cooks and cleans, and no complaints (at least when one is in her presence).
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