We’re back already and it’s only Saturday morning. Teenagers have places to go and people to meet and privacy to protect, so we didn’t stay in Deep Creek very long but it was a full two days. Mostly full of mashed potatoes and pie: pumpkin, coconut, lemon meringue, apple, peanut butter, Oreo, and pecan chocolate. I brought my traditional pumpkin pecan pie, but we ate it for breakfast at the cabin because there was no room on the table for another pie.
Make that tables, plural, need to seat all 31 people. There were at least two in high chairs and someone asked if they should be counted as people. Um, I’d say yes? Clara was a magnet for the kiddos, who were literally climbing on top of her.
There was also turkey, gravy, stuffing, corn pudding, cranberries, vegetable medley, green beans, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes (baked), sweet potatoes (mashed), and sweet potatoes (souffléd). Thanks and so full.
The girls went to go down to see the moonlight and snow on the lake after dinner. Dad, Finn and I got our steps in during the day. Finn gets his flips in day and night—and at the gas station stop, as seen here with the flags—and the highlight of the trip for him probably has nothing to do with family or food: He mastered the roundoff backflip with the rope. Huge!
Fun and games, sarcasm and irritability not withstanding, included the crossword puzzle, jigsaw puzzles, Colorku, Spit, Rumikub, Boggle, Cranium, Memory, and Paddle Ping Pong (Finn and I got to 101). Does dog management (four at the cabin) count as fun or a game? Marley tried to balance it with schoolwork that kept her up late into the night, stressed about a project due Wednesday.
So all in all, a pretty classic Deep Creek Thanksgiving, a first for our kids. We tried the new American tradition of Black Friday shopping at the outlet mall on the way back home but it was so jammed packed, it was stressful and made us less thankful and less good human beings. No more of that for me.
In the meantime Kevin and Hugh both worked through the week. Hugh taught a unit on the family tree to his university students in Jordan, and Kevin spoke at a high-level meeting on transport in Ukraine. He’s increasingly thankful for electricity, since his is out on a daily basis.
Despite the cliché of it, I am thankful for the basics: food, a warm house, lights, health, clean air, and family around us. Not even our closest family and friends have all that this year. And I’m very grateful to have all the kids at home and doing great—by which I mean okay, which is great.
@theterrace 