Thanksgiving Continued!

My sister, Shauna, sent me a ridiculously long text about everything that Thanksgiving reminds her of and I thought I'd share. Some stuff I didn't remember, some stuff I still don't remember but it all made me laugh.

She reminded me that we used to hope not to get stuck sitting in the chair next to the wood stove vent because it was hot we'd sweat through the entire meal. And that every time my dad said grace we would laugh the whole time because dad was usually crying. My mother would always roll her eyes and say "Oh, put it in your journal Brian!" which would make us laugh harder. Shauna says she remembers AJ and Nick getting into fights...but I don't remember that. After the meal our Gram would do the dishes in water so scalding hot it's baffling that she never had to go to the ER for third degree burns (which is hereditary because I now have a tendency to do it). Then when the deck of cards came out, we'd play 31 and Gram would cheat. It was something everyone expected and yet everyone always acted surprised...when Uncle Charlie would call her out on it. Uncle Charlie used to talk to us in what my sister calls "gibberish" (seriously...who knows what it was). Shauna says she used to act like she knew what he was saying...but I'm pretty sure I always just stared at him. For some reason, my sister used to like to style Aunt Bonnie's hair...and Aunt Bonnie put with it. It always looked painful and by the time Shauna was done she had used roughly 5 pounds of mousse in her hair.

And lets not forget my mother cooking a retarded amount of food (like the time she cooked a 26 pound turkey with all the fixings - and then some - for six people). She would do this while drinking her Busch beer out of her "fancy" glass that she only ever drank out of at our family get-togethers. And, knowing my mother, she had probably stolen the glass from some restaurant. Petty thievery was a hobby of hers.

Anyway, that text made me smile remembering all the wonderful - and usually humorous - family holidays we've had over the years. It makes me sad to think that we won't have holidays like that anymore but I thank God for the memories that we have. And I look forward to the holiday traditions that Husband and I will be starting with our own family :)