Wednesday, November 23, 2005

it just won't be thanksgiving...

...without any of the guests who were planning to come to my feast. Ive spent the past two months supervising landscapers, wallpaper strippers, painters and various other fixer upper types of workpeople just to make sure that every nook and cranny in my house was sparkling and freshly tended. I ordered lots of new furniture, new fireplace insert and accoutrements, new rugs, had a decorator in to make it all work-- all since mid-September. OK, you're right-- I did nothing at all toward making the estate a better place to live in the 10 previous months. Still I've been manic for the last two.

Counting myself, I was having 9 friends and family members for the weekend. Last week, my best friend in the whole world,who responsibly maintains one of those pesky things called a job, realized that even though her position is a lofty one, she still ought, at least as a courtesy to the CEO, to get official sign-off for her taking a very long weekend away. Well guess what? During the past year, the business had shed itself of one layer of middle management, leaving her presence at work on those big retail days imperative. So as of last week, TDay fell short one best friend, one 15 year old godson, one best friend's mother and the sweetest Rhodesian Ridgeback youd ever want to meet.

That makes it just me and my family for dinner, shopping and snarfing up leftovers. Still a houseful, still lots of fun, right? However, as of yesterday, my family's enthusiasm for the 4 hour ride has become tenuous and tentative. My mom had an MRI last Monday, hoping to get a diagnosis of a mysterious pain (they're thinking pinched nerve, or something similar) along with satisfactory medication, but for some reason, we have been as yet unable to get results. It's a week later, come on! And the 12 year old nephew/godson has missed most of this past week's school for a sinus infection. And sis is stretched to her limits trying to deal with a mom in pain, a sick son, a bunch of Dr visits and a big sis who keeps calling up and saying: "Waaah! I don't know whether to buy a turkey and oysters or not. Waahh". And now even the person I counted on for helping with kitchen and hosting duties here may be off early to Scotland. I know just how that guy in the Scream painting feels.

But even as I mourn this fast fading vision of family togetherness, replete with holiday joy and copious quantities of food, my mind keeps wandering, and the old familiar strains of that ever popular holiday ballad "I'm dreaming of a Foxy TDay" are running persistently through my head......

To be continued.
Posted by Kate :: 4:03 PM :: 0 Comments:   

Click Here to View or Post Comments

---------------------------------------