\o/ and Thanksgiving Comes First - Day 5
Currently I have a Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks (which hasn't gone all holiday yet! Instead, their paper cups sport non-holiday snowflakes and there are two boxes of what I assume to be holiday decorations sitting unopened next to the pick-up counter with a sign on them saying "Do not open until the holiday season!" Starbucks and I have never been close, but that has totally moved them up a few degrees in my book), I have both Iron Man soundtracks playing over my speakers (even though we're not supposed to stream music at work... shhh, don't tell!), and I have tomorrow off and possibly Friday as well.
Next week, I have a plane ticket that will take me home for Two Whole Weeks to see my awesome family and my amazing friends for the first time in eight months!
So far, things are looking quite good. Now I hope I didn't just jinx myself.
That said, Thanksgiving Comes First - Day 5
Day 1 - Thanksgiving 2007
Day 2 and 3 - Mmm, mashed potatoes
Day 4 - In which I give thanks for fan fiction, because I am a Geek.
Day 5 - In which Thanksgiving is Awesome, at least for me
Traditionally when I was growing up, Thanksgiving would take place at my Gramma M's, and it was usually the biggest family gathering of the year. My mom has five brothers and sisters, and between them, there was something like twelve first cousins including my brothers and I, and at the moment I think there are six or seven second cousins. When you add in all of the Significant Others, the Great Grandparents while they were alive, and the Boyfriends/Girlfriends/Fiancees... well, you can imagine it was quite the gathering, and I *loved* it.
As kids, Thanksgiving was the *only* time I ever got to see my cousins from my mom's side - Robbin, Buddy, Addie, Talia, and Hannah. These guys were the cousins who were close to the age of myself and my brothers, and I was especially good friends with Robbin - who was only a few months younger than myself - Addie, and Talia, with Hannah in there as well once we all got a bit older (she was the youngest of all of all the cousins, maybe five years younger than myself). Thanksgiving would be *all* about taking turns playing with Grampa's electric piano or having "sleep overs" down in Gramma and Grampa's basement with them because we were also the ones that lived the furthest away from the traditional Thanksgiving festivities - for my family it was two and a half hours to get to Gramma M's, and for Hope and Jeff (parents of Addy, Talia, and Hannah), it was three and a half to four and a half depending on traffic - and we more often than not spent either the night before or the night after Thanksgiving in one of the guest bedrooms.
So, not only was Thanksgiving a great holiday because Gramma is a *fantastic* cook and her mashed potatoes are *awesome* and pretty much made Thanksgiving Dinner for me and my cousins (Gramma always had to make extra potatoes because there were years during our most Picky Eater Phases where the potatoes would be the only thing myself, Robbin, Buddy, and Hannah ate during the entire dinner. Well, except the desserts, but I don't think those count), but it was also a once-a-year opportunity to play with my cousins and run gleefully around the house and having sleep overs and staying up late and playing with all of the old toys that *our* moms and dads had played with growing up because Gramma kept them near pristine, and those wooden blocks had seen *four generations of play*, people. *FOUR GENERATIONS*! If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is.
Wow, that last paragraph was one big long run-on sentence. No matter, though, because Thanksgiving really was that awesome once upon a time, and it totally deserves to be again.
Next week, I have a plane ticket that will take me home for Two Whole Weeks to see my awesome family and my amazing friends for the first time in eight months!
So far, things are looking quite good. Now I hope I didn't just jinx myself.
That said, Thanksgiving Comes First - Day 5
Day 1 - Thanksgiving 2007
Day 2 and 3 - Mmm, mashed potatoes
Day 4 - In which I give thanks for fan fiction, because I am a Geek.
Day 5 - In which Thanksgiving is Awesome, at least for me
Traditionally when I was growing up, Thanksgiving would take place at my Gramma M's, and it was usually the biggest family gathering of the year. My mom has five brothers and sisters, and between them, there was something like twelve first cousins including my brothers and I, and at the moment I think there are six or seven second cousins. When you add in all of the Significant Others, the Great Grandparents while they were alive, and the Boyfriends/Girlfriends/Fiancees... well, you can imagine it was quite the gathering, and I *loved* it.
As kids, Thanksgiving was the *only* time I ever got to see my cousins from my mom's side - Robbin, Buddy, Addie, Talia, and Hannah. These guys were the cousins who were close to the age of myself and my brothers, and I was especially good friends with Robbin - who was only a few months younger than myself - Addie, and Talia, with Hannah in there as well once we all got a bit older (she was the youngest of all of all the cousins, maybe five years younger than myself). Thanksgiving would be *all* about taking turns playing with Grampa's electric piano or having "sleep overs" down in Gramma and Grampa's basement with them because we were also the ones that lived the furthest away from the traditional Thanksgiving festivities - for my family it was two and a half hours to get to Gramma M's, and for Hope and Jeff (parents of Addy, Talia, and Hannah), it was three and a half to four and a half depending on traffic - and we more often than not spent either the night before or the night after Thanksgiving in one of the guest bedrooms.
So, not only was Thanksgiving a great holiday because Gramma is a *fantastic* cook and her mashed potatoes are *awesome* and pretty much made Thanksgiving Dinner for me and my cousins (Gramma always had to make extra potatoes because there were years during our most Picky Eater Phases where the potatoes would be the only thing myself, Robbin, Buddy, and Hannah ate during the entire dinner. Well, except the desserts, but I don't think those count), but it was also a once-a-year opportunity to play with my cousins and run gleefully around the house and having sleep overs and staying up late and playing with all of the old toys that *our* moms and dads had played with growing up because Gramma kept them near pristine, and those wooden blocks had seen *four generations of play*, people. *FOUR GENERATIONS*! If that isn't awesome, I don't know what is.
Wow, that last paragraph was one big long run-on sentence. No matter, though, because Thanksgiving really was that awesome once upon a time, and it totally deserves to be again.