one day i'll host my own. and i hope you'll come
I love being a hostess. This was the first time in my family history that we hosted Thanksgiving. Yes, I spent all day yesterday cleaning and dusting and scrubbing, and no, this is not my ideal plan for when I come home. But when our house looked beautiful today (and it did) and family and friends began to arrive, I felt an excitement for this holiday that I never have before. I mean, sure, I always love Thanksgiving. Any occassion that brings people together and encourages gluttony is one I will whole heartedly embrace. But hosting this gathering was even more fulfilling.
We had 18 people in the bungalow today. Two turkeys, three cranberry salads, candied yams, yam torte, candied butternut squash, stuffed shells, two kinds of stuffing, carrots, corn pudding, green beans, gravies galore. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pizzelles, Russian tea balls, chocolates, hot cider, sparkling cider, a dozen bottles of wine. There was enough food here for 30 people, easy.
My patience was in top shape, and I took requests and demands with grace, flying about the house in search of this, that, and the other thing. Every single bite was bursting with flavor and post-meal I snuck off to my room and laid in my bed, keeping the lights on and door open to listen to the pleasant sounds of a busy house (conditions I find almost easier to fall asleep to these days than the blanket of silence I battle in the early suburban AM) as I drifted into a pleasant tryptophan/5 glasses of wine/well overdue slumber.
I just woke up. I don't know exactly how long I've been adrift in dreams - at least two hours - but I enjoyed occassionally stirring to hear my family close by.
Thanksgiving is an important time of year. My feelings about being home this time are markedly different than all others before; I hesitate to attempt to explain them because I don't know how well I could or if it even matters. It's times like these I want to just breathe and live it without dissection. So I am. And I love it.
I recognize that I am an extremely lucky girl. At times not infrequent, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a loving family, a legion of inspired friends, and a wealth of opportunites at my fingertips - not to mention three solid rooves over my head, a constant food supply, and exemplerary health. I am thankful, no doubt about it. So very, very thankful.