Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving 2013 was spent at Nana and Pop's house.

Carrie felt nauseous, so Shane, Roxy, and I cleared out of the house around noon to let her sleep.

The family crowd was a little lighter this year: Kathleen, Stu, and Cole are in SC, Megan and Billy are on the other side of the globe, and we didn't combine with the Jeffers family either. They were missed, but I'm sure they're enjoying the holiday where they are. They'll bring new stories for everyone the next time we gather.

My parents brought in some 'temps' to fill in empty seats. A family friend from years back, Carla, is an exchange student from Argentina at a state university. She brought a group of other exchange students (Brazilians all, I think) who had no where else to go. Home was too far and too expensive and the university dorms were shut down as everyone else cleared out.

I've always admired Nana and Pop's hospitality. They're willing to open their doors to those in need and I've met many interesting people over the years who've lived there for days, weeks, or years.

But, I digress: Thanksgiving was filled with lots and lots of food, family, and friends.

Roxy and Indy spent most of it running (and shivering) outside in the mud together.

Shane was a crabby customer until after his nap. Then he dragged Carla all over the house and insisted that only she play with him ("No Pop! No Daddy! Only Carla!" an actual quote from Shane when Pop and I tried to find him during a Hide and Seek game with Carla). Eventually, I figured out that unless I turned the TV on Shane wasn't going to let her go.

Carrie came over late, but still felt like crap. She was glad to make it out, at least. She plopped down on a couch in front of some football and didn't leave it until I drove everyone home.

Bruce, Reina, and Bryce are long-time family friends and I hoped Shane would have shown more interest in playing with Bryce (he's 1/2 year younger than Shane). That didn't happen, but it was still nice seeing them again.

Everyone ate a big lunch, but things slowed down afterwards. The exchange students went for a walk, naps were taken, Patrick retreated to his computer, and processing leftovers began. I tried to take a nap on the couch after I was done eating and failed. I helped some with the clean-up and chatted, but mainly stuck near Shane's monitor.

In my opinion, the real excitement started after my friend, John, arrived.

John brought X-Wing.

John used to be a staple at family gatherings. He had not been in recent years (there's a story there), and this was the year I coaxed him back. He doesn't live far from my parents, so I asked him to bring his new board game over.

We grew up being utter nerds together. It wasn't a hard sell.

Of course, Shane's nap ended moments before John arrived. I was back on Daddy duty. There were other nerds waiting in the wings, though. Patrick came down from upstairs and Matt came up from the basement to demo the game. Then the exchange students came back from their walk and asked to join in!

X-Wing is a fun game, but it's not really made for a large group of people none of which know the rules. John and I played one 10 minute demo session prior to him bringing it over. That was it. I couldn't help with teaching the rules or play, because I was chasing my son around (when he'd let me...I'm also a low priority when there's new and exciting people around).

The game last longer than expected, but was fun to observe intermittently. Renee woke up and she and Matt showed everyone another game afterward, Avalon. I didn't get to play that one either, but it was hysterical to listen to. Matt and John are both 'all-in' and excitable. The whole group laughed and reveled, but you could hear those two from rooms away! It was hilarious.

There was a great Shane moment in between, but I'll save that for another post.

It was a good Thanksgiving. It would have been better if Carrie wasn't sick, but the day hasn't lost it's position as one of my all-time favorite holidays.

Food, family, and friends? It's hard to beat that! Bring a dish if you wish, and focus on what you can be thankful for.

Amen!