Post-Thanksgiving Day Thoughts

While we waited for the parade at Disneyland on Tuesday, this family walked past us and then sat nearby.

They had three kids and all five of the family members wore The Incredibles costumes.

I tried to imagine growing up in a family where the mom and dad would wear whimsical costumes while spending the whole day at Disneyland.  What a hilarious family!  Are they as fun-loving as they appeared to me?

I don’t know but I like to think that they laugh and frolic all day long.

Just seeing them made me happy, so I surreptitiously took a photo while watching the parade.

And see that purple balloon?  It belonged to a child whose mother plopped herself into my personal space–without asking, really.  That balloon kept bopping me in the head.

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Yesterday is a blur.

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Today we slept in (glory to God in the Highest) and then I began cooking.  I left dirty dishes in the sink last night–uncharacteristically for me on the night before Thanksgiving–and so my work was cut out for me.

I didn’t even have a schedule planned, though I did have the foresight to actually purchase ingredients.  So, there’s that.

I got my 22 pound turkey in the oven by 10:40 AM and then began washing dishes and prepping side dishes while my daughter chattered incessantly and the Thanksgiving Day parade played on the television sitting on my kitchen counter.  (I can’t even describe how much I love having a television in my kitchen.  The previous owners of our house left it for us.)

I methodically prepared each dish:  stuffing, corn souffle’, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and Crescent rolls from the can.  I cleaned up as I went and by 2:45 PM we were sitting and eating dinner.

And while I sat at the table with my four kids and husband I was sincerely so grateful for a peaceful household.  We went around the circle and talked about what we were thankful for and I actually think each of the kids meant what they said.  You know?  Sometimes it seems like they just recite what they think we want to hear.

Anyway, all that cooking and twenty minutes later it was time to put away leftovers and wash dishes.

Then, finally, a nap!   And not just a nap but the kind of nap you can’t rouse yourself from, the kind of nap that finds you drooling on your pillow.  (Or maybe that’s just me.  Don’t look at me like that!)

Now, I hear Christmas knocking at the door–not just knocking, but yelling and ringing the doorbell and banging on the door–and I just wish we could slow it down.  I’m not ready to drag out the Christmas decorations and put up the Christmas tree.  But I know it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.

Tonight, though–after all the cooking, the eating, the napping and even the working (on a holiday!) I just wish an elf or someone would do all the Christmas work.

Maybe I just need to find my inner Incredible and one of those red costumes.