family
how i spent my thanksgiving: an essay by posh d. pants
the main idea for this essay is that i had a really great thanksgiving. and now i shall prove this main idea with several examples.*
on the actual day of thanks, i went over to my cousin jim’s house. and when i say “cousin,” i mean “person i am somehow related to.” i don’t actually have any first cousins, but my mom’s side of the family is so big, they really make up for it. the house was packed with about five different tables to seat the forty or so people that had gathered (some of these folks i haven’t seen since i was a little girl, and it was one of the few times in my life when the value of nametags outweighed the dorkiness).
in fact, this was pretty much the thanksgiving of my dreams. henri says that my ideal holiday is the first ten minutes of “home alone,” which is totally double true (esp. the pizza). i love the crowds! the chaos! the confusion! in fact, jim’s house was SO packed, henri said “wow, i can see how they forgot about kevin.”
speaking of forgetting something important, i left flossie at home, but sadie came to the rescue and allowed me to take gems like this:
my dad sooo knew that picture was going on le blog.
i think the main reason i love all of the chaos of big family gatherings is that i grew up as an only child, so our house was always rather quiet (and calm, which i generally prefer). but it’s not just about the boisterous atmosphere… it’s also the INSANE NUMBER OF DESSERTS!
LOOK AT THAT! LOOK! AT! THAT!
also, i was sitting right next to that table. cos i am full of strategery!!!
the third reason thanksgiving was so great (after family and food) was that there was a baby there!!!!
and i got to play with her! and pinch (gently) those massive cheeks! hi ruthie!
ruthie’s older sister, bailey, was there too. i wish i could’ve taken her home, i.e. the Cutest Leftovers Ever.
my uncle scott and i spent the next two nights with my parents in round rock, where we did the usual things: reading, watching movies, talking… oh, and scaring the pants off of each other via facial masks.
RAAAA!!! i’m so lucky that i got my mom’s gene for Zombie Face.
we also put up the family christmas tree, a tradition that always gives me major squee.
and yes, we do all wear santa hats. and we LIKE IT!
even though it happens ever year, i cherish unfolding each ornament, esp. when i discover that it’s one of my all time favorites. then i do a litle dance while shreiking the name of the ornament, like it’s been lost for a hundred years and was just discovered in, like, the remains of the titantic.
this year was kind of a major milestone, though, cos i brought some of my childhood ornaments home… for my own tree, in my own apartment. it’s almost like i’m a grown-up or something.
yay! the tree is ready! so let’s have christmas now!
after all of our decorating, we drove over to downtown georgetown for the tree lighting ceremony. since georgetown is a pretty small place, it felt more like a little neighborhood block party, which only added to the charm. the town square was decked out with lights, and yes, there were carolers!
most of the stores were open late, so we explored charming little places like this bookstore, which YES had a tree made of BOOKS!
and of course, a ton of antique stores. the pitres love their antiques!
seriously, though, how inviting does that window look? so many sparkles! and colors! and whimsy!
we ended the night with a serenade from some carolers dressed in, CHECK, victorian gear! the only thing missing was the roaming band of broadway bound tweens singing their hearts out and dressed like orphans. you know what i’m talking about.
after such a wholesome holiday, it only seemed right to drive to san antonio with erica and henri so we could be as touristy as possible on the riverwalk. i knew it was going to be a good night when we got a surprise bottle of champers from some of erica’s old hotel co-workers. cheers to US!
also, thanks to erica, we got to stay in a posh hotel room!! with an awesome view! rather than jumping on the bed, henri, being the mature adult that he is, decided to build a fort with the couch cushions.
the riverwalk is always a fun (and yes, cheesy) place to visit, but during the hoidays, it turns into a WINTER WONDERLAND! well, i mean, minus the snow. fake snow, however, would definitely be cool (san antonio, are you reading this?).
i asked erica and henri to pose for a “we’re on the riverwalk!” picture, but instead of taking the picture, i played that prank where you hit “record” instead of taking an actual picture and then after about a minute, yr subjects realize they’ve been posing and feel like idiots and everyone wins with the hilarity! esp. when henri and erica are involved, cos they LIKE looking like idiots.
we tried to check out as many touristy places as possible (except the rainforest cafe. we walked in… and walked right back out. there’s only so much THEME one person can take), but my favorite was the dueling piano bar!!!
first of all, i cannot BELIEVE people paid $23 just to have their phrase written on a mirror board. i think i’m going to put a white board up in my cubicle and see how much money i can make from my co-workers.
second of all, I LOVE DUELING PIANOS!!! even though they didn’t play nearly enough billy joel for my taste.
we ended up sitting with a husband and wife who were out celebrating the wife’s birthday. another good thing about piano bars: it is v. v. easy to make friends when you’re singing yr heart out to elton john.
esp. when the husband is REALLY EXCITED that it’s his wife’s birthday and repeatedly asks you to wish her a happy birthday. NO REALLY IT’S HER BIRTHDAY TELL HER HAPPY BIRTHDAY! IT’S HER BIRTHDAY!
in other words, the riverwalk and its people totally met and then, amazingly, surpassed my expectations.
and so, in summary, i had a great thanksgiving because:
there was so much family!
there was so much pie!
there was a baby and a toddler!
i went to the riverwalk and enjoyed its culture!
the end.
p.s. did you guys have a good thanksgiving?
*i really wanted to start this essay with the webster’s definition of thanksgiving but i just couldn’t bring myself to that level of high schoolness.
LINKS
ready to salivate over thanksgiving food all over again? check out what michelle made… uh, michelle, want to come over to my house next year?
i loved this jezebel entry about food descriptions in books, cos, hello, that’s mostly what i remember about books, esp. the ones i read as a kid. like, the maple syrup ice cream in “little house on the prairie”! or the ice cold milk in “the boxcar children”! heck, even the turkish delight in the narnia book… and i don’t even *like* turkish delight.
BEST JENGA SET EVER (thanks for the link, john!)
check out this preview for the new electric company. i kinda want to learn to read all over again!
Discussion
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Thanksgiving was also good to me for many reasons.
First, I got to eat both ham AND turkey. I enjoy having multiple meat options at my meals, and they were both delicious.
Second, I made spiced *adult* cider. No, it wasn’t X rated cider. It was simply chock full of booze.
Third, I joined a gym to remedy both the behavior above, and that extra $29 knocking around my bank account each month.
In conclusion, Thanksgiving was also good to me for many reasons.
(I love the high school composition theme of this one!)
That looks kind of awesome to me. Wow. I could get into this American holiday stuff.
Also, I really appreciated the essay theme, as I’ve been grading for three days straight!!
If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you all a hundred times: Elton John brings people together. For all his faults, drunk husband of birthday girl knows this in his heart of hearts, and for that I can’t outright dislike him.
Yay, that looks lovely! Matt and I will be on the Riverwalk for his birthday (the day after Christmas) so we can have some fun birthday time away from his family, so I look forward to the holiday cheer!
Also, how many sparkly jackets does Henri own?
Are Henri and your dad doing the cobra?!?!? I really hope you say yes!
i think i’m might’ve yelped a bit at you and your mom’s facials. just a little bit.
Hi! I’m really late to this post, but I don’t write my own blogs and am crap at emailing and everything related to the internet lately.
That said, I loved your post. I had a Thanksgiving with 10 close friends and 6 new friends (after spending Thanksgiving with them) on Sunday, and it was so fun. I sent my friend who was hosting (she hosts most things) a turkey recipe which was delicious, and we had nice, cozy conversations about life, and I felt like these were Old Friends, which was what I needed. And I wrote a couple Christmas cards later but only because I know what I’m like and I’ll be really far behinda nd probably not mail half of them unless I start in Nov. Sadly, no babies, but that’s fine. There’s always the future.
I didn’t have the best thanksgiving. Erica and I decided we needed to get out of Thailand before the government collapsed, so we spent thanksgiving night on a 10 hour van ride from Bangkok to Phuket, where the only functional airport in Thailand is located. The highway was mostly two undivided lanes and full of bikes, slow heavy trucks, insane Thai drivers, and scary military checkpoints along the Myanmar border. We didn’t eat anything, for fear of barfing, and tried to keep our eyes closed for as much of those 10 hours as possible. Also, Thai rest stops only have squat toilets. Not a good scene.
My Thanksgiving was boring. Mainly because I like drinking with my family and there won’t be any drinking for me until the baby arrives.
Also, I don’t like traditional Thanksgiving food. Seriously. I know! I know! I am so un-American. But really? Green bean casserole? Yams with brown sugar (as if they are already not sweet enough on their own?) I think it might be my nausea but whatever, I am sticking by my statement.
Also…I LOVE food descriptions in YA books. Hello! The Little Princess? I remember the ‘ice cold milk’ in boxcar kids and how they kept it cold, by putting it in the cold creek, which I was fascinated by because creeks just aren’t that cold around here.
Anyways, yay!
Meredith – the answer to your question is, “Not enough.”
But I’m working to improve that siuation.