If you think taking a trip out of state will get you out of Thanksgiving meal duties, think again.  Yesterday I bundled up the roaster, the frozen turkey, and all the ingredients needed for the feast and headed north.  “Don’t they sell onions and celery in Utah?” asked Couponman sarcastically.

So the next morning, my sister, Holly, and I began our divided duties.  “You bake the desserts,” I said.  “I’ll make the dressing and sweet potatoes.”

Holly cut up a pumpkin to boil for pie.  “Wanna know why I have so many pumpkins?”  She continued without waiting for an answer.  “You know how it’s impossible to find a pumpkin after Halloween.  Well, a guy from work brought me a couple.  He said he’d sit them by my car, but I couldn’t find them.  I looked and looked around my car, in my car.  Everywhere I could think of.  So then I asked a lady on my mail route, if I could take one from her porch.  When I stuck it in the backseat, there were the other two.  I swear they weren’t there earlier.”

“Failed by your uterine tracking device, huh?”   We laughed as we cut, minced, diced, and sampled.

“I don’t know why people need so many utensils,” I said to my sister, “when they have fingers.”  While Holly searched for a spatula, I took the blender, cupped my hand and reached into the cylinder and scraped out the pumpkin puree sticking to the sides with my fingers.  “No harm, no foul, if no one sees you.”

“You’re just a regular primate,” she said.  We laughed.  We felt like we’d gotten away with something.  That feeling does not come often for a mother.

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During

Within a short amount of time, the table that hosted eleven ravenous bodies was once again transformed into a ping pong table.  Another year of thanksgiving, and the sharing of food and laughter with those we love.

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After

Too soon, Holly and I were left with never-ending leftovers and a full sink.  “Come over and watch the football game with us,” suggested Hot Wheelz, while we cleaned up.  Let’s see, football?  Dishes?  Easy choice.

“Wanna go with us?” I asked my sister.

“Nah,” she replied.  “I’m too tired.”  The cancer treatments had not yet released her from their evil spell.

“That’s not fair,” I said.  “Anything  you don’t want to do now, you can play the C card.”

“I know,” she smiled.  “In ten years, I can say, ‘I had cancer ten years ago, and it might come back.’”  We laughed.  I walked into the table to clear some more food, and stubbed my toe on one of the large pumpkins.

“Ouch,” I called out.  “I think I broke my toe.”

“On a pumpkin?”she laughed.

“You get cancer and I get a stupid pumpkin,” I said, jumping on one foot.  “No one would feel sorry for me if I played the P card.  Listen – P card, P card.  It even sounds stupid.”

“Maybe people would think you had pneumonia,” said Couponman, trying to be sympathetic to my injury.

“No, they’d think that was the N card.”

Well, my toe’s not broken, and Holly found the energy to go over to Hot Wheelz’ and Cheezy’s with us to watch the football game.  Many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Related posts:

1. I’m old enough to be thankful ^[13]
2. Tacky & sappy but merry wishes to you all ^[14]
3. Christmases past ^[15]
4. Why I don’t do balloons ^[16]
5. I killed the Pillsbury doughboy ^[17]

1 Comment To "Making do"

#1 Comment By GT On November 25, 2011 @ 2:14 pm