every year Thanksgiving brings an unexpected something, that throws a wrench into the Norman Rockwell scene that plays over and over again in my head. This year, my niece Carrie was banned from the gathering of 20 plus at my grandmothers house. Well, lets not say banned, that will for sure get me in some sort of trouble and put a damper on any Christmas Carol that is already starting to play out in my imagination. You see, Carrie was unfortunate enough to be the last one in her family to suffer the flu, the kind that has you running to the bathroom, spewing every 5 minutes. That was Tuesday, and so as not to spread the germ throughout the house, Carrie stayed across the yard at my Mom's house. I thought it was a little sad, the poor thing didn't understand why she couldn't attend. Not to worry, she had plenty of visitors that were brave, like Gunther and myself. Honestly, with everything going on at my Grandmothers, the calmness of my Mom's house was pleasing, especially to Gunther
As for the feast, I prepared the night before, so we would go home to leftovers and plans of Turkey pot pie on the weekend.
When your Thanksgiving dinner consists of more than 20 people, there isn't much left after everyone is done, the people are seated all over the house (this year, funny enough, the weather was so warm that not only was cocktail hours outdoors, but some even chose to eat al fresco
the gathering of the whole family, from oldest to youngest,
and people who you haven't seen in months,all in one place (sort of) for just a few short hours always leaves me yearning for more. I am, of course the first to leave, because, like it or not, I work in retail and anyway you slice it, the day after thanksgiving is Black Friday, and I was scheduled for 6am. Thank God Christmas is right around the corner.

