Instead of rambling on and on about everything that happened on this holiday, I will simply outline some of the major points. Let's organize them into the categories of Life Affirming and Made Me Want to Crawl Into a Hole and Die.
First off, the negative:
1. Going to the in-laws and watching them make everything with chicken broth
2. The cold weather (that's a given)
3. Everyone wrinkling their nose when I said the words "tofu cheesecake."
4. My van breaking down on the highway when I was almost to my mom's house.
5. My family wanting to get pictures of themselves with my grandpa - knowing that they will be the last pictures of him, possibly the last time they are all together.
6. Holding my grandma's hands as we said goodbye and noticing her tremors, her pale skin, the scarf on her head, the fact that she's lost weight again, that look in her eyes. Wondering when her cancer will return.
7. My mom crying when they left.
8. Riding home in my husband's loud Honda Civic with three kids crammed into the backseat(fighting), leaving my broken down van, my music, and my family, behind.
Now, on the plus side:
1. The tofu cheesecake I made was delicious. Light, fruity, fat-free and completely guilt-free. Gracie finally had a dessert that she could eat, and she loved it.
2. The fact that my cousin Rachel turned out to be a vegetarian too, and was ecstatic about my cheesecake.
3. I absolutely loved the skirt I wore. It was so me.
4. The conversation we all had with my cousin Mike, as he told us about his recent trip to Bogotá, Columbia, and we talked about books and movies and had fun.
5. Mike totally got my Pulp Fiction reference. It doesn't happen too often that people have seen the same movies and understand what I'm talking about.
6. Grace looked so beautiful in her purple velour outfit.
7. The positive side of my van breaking down: I was NOT in the middle of nowhere on a bitterly cold winter day, I DID make it to my mom's, Todd WAS able to come and get us, and we WERE able to go back yesterday and get it fixed. It could have been much worse.
I didn't think I would be able to find that many positive things, but I guess if you look hard enough, you always can. I was dreading the day, but to be together with my family turned out to have some life-affirming aspects to it after all. And for that I am thankful.
1 comment:
Ugh, the thing about making things like potatoes with chicken broth absolutely disturbs me. That possibility had never even occurred to me until a few years ago. (And maybe it's just my lack of knowledge about cooking since I hardly ever do anything from scratch.) Now I'm extremely wary anytime I eat mashed potatoes or pretty much anything else that isn't immediately identifiable as vegetarian or as an uncontaminated fruit or vegetable. This is probably why I don't eat out that much.
I'm glad you were able to enjoy your Thanksgiving with all its up and downs.
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