Chance just started a second job, so on Wednesday (the day my mom and Kendall arrived) he was home from his first job long enough to give Mom a kiss on the cheek, say “what’s up” to Kendall and me, and change before he was out the door and on his way to his second job.
Kendall and I chose to spend the evening catching up over wine.
On Turkey Day we all got up around 9:00 and just lazed around for a bit. Mom and I had to run to Wally World for a few things and planned to start cooking when we got back. Since all we had to make were the sides, we weren’t in any hurry. (Several years ago, we started the tradition of having smoked brisket for Thanksgiving and haven’t looked back.)
We made it home with the last of the Thanksgiving ingredients [insert cliché “or so we thought” here] around 11:00 and got to work. In addition to the melt-in-your-mouth brisket, the menu also included: broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole; corn casserole; mashed potatoes (made with sour cream); the best macaroni and cheese you've ever put in your mouth; and pies for days.
Kendall took it upon himself to make our pumpkin pies this year (isn't that so cute?!), and he made four--one for each of us.
In addition to Kendall's pies, we had two more pumpkin pies my grandma sent, a lemon meringue pie from Randel's mom, and an apple pie.
I was excited to finally have a legit reason to wear the adorable apron Randel’s mom got me. I mean, you can only convince yourself it’s perfectly natural to sport an apron while making a grilled cheese for so long.
My excitement soon turned to frustration when I realized I didn’t actually have everything we needed, as I had so confidently assured Mom a few days before. Right after starting the rice for broccoli, cheese, and rice casserole, I found that I didn’t have the cream of mushroom soup we needed. I also realized the Jiffy mix we needed for corn casserole was somehow missing from my pantry.
In a huff, I tore off my apron, snatched my keys off the table, and may have
Ten minutes and $2.90 later, I was back and ready to get cooking again.
Mere minutes later, as I was getting Paula Deen’s Crock-Pot Mac & Cheese ready to go, I came to the frustrating realization that I was half a cup short on elbow macaroni.
I repeated the huff-snatch-slam process again…and once again returned home ten minutes later after having spent $2.90 at Dollar General.Weird, huh? (If you’re wondering why pasta cost so much at the dollar store, it didn’t. I also picked up a can of crushed pineapple for the carrot Jell-O salad I had previously decided not to make. But since I was already at the store—again—I figured hey, why not? And yes, you read that correctly; that's carrot Jell-O salad. Don't knock it til you try it.)
The rest of the afternoon progressed sans any more Dollar General runs, so we were finally able to sit down to give thanks at about 4:00, an hour later than we had planned. In attendance were: Mom, Chance, Kendall, me, Randel, and Chance’s friend Kyle.
Another tradition we have is going around the table and saying what we’re thankful for. I teared up a bit when Chance shared that he was thankful for family and life, when Randel was thankful for all of us having woken up that day, when Kendall said he was thankful for the “lovely ladies who prepared this great food,” and when Mom cried before saying she was thankful for her kids.
Even though we had a couple minor setbacks, we had a great Thanksgiving. I always treasure the rare times when my mom, brothers, and I can get together. It pretty much only happens at Thanksgiving (we celebrate Christmas in Tipton, and Chance usually can’t come because of work), so it’s a pretty special holiday for us.
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