The cranberry sauce has landed. A thanksgiving perspective

by Allie P., posted in Life as I know it

At the time this posts, I will, hopefully, be well on my way to a tryptophan-induced turkey coma or at least surrounded by the smells of food cooking, children playing, and the near-deafening noise of my family squeezed together under a single roof attempting to engage in conversation over the sound of the football game on tv.

And sure, some of this vision is idealized thinking. In reality, the children’s play has likely descended into high pitched chaos by now. Cans of cranberry sauce may have fallen to the floor adding to the kitchen’s new color scheme and grandpa might say something, well… grandpa-y.

But even this less than perfect vision is still reason for me to be grateful.

The scent of smoke filled the air outside my home last week, caused by several forest fires burning in North Carolina’s Western mountains, nearly 200 miles away. On the other side of the state, flood waters from Hurricane Matthew only recently receded. Power was out and roads were closed for weeks. Many have lost everything due to the rain, and will more due to its counterpart just as the weather to turns cold.

And so I might roll my eyes as I pass the gravy but will raise my glass when it comes time to give thanks and drink deeply. For my more realistic vision of the day, as flawed is it may be, is still filled with food, family, and a roof over our heads.

I hope that you might consider participating in #GivingTuesday if you are in a position to do so, and wish you all, whether you observe the holiday or not, a Happy Thanksgiving.

And for those of you who prefer a little extra reading to football, here is a repost of another of my less than ideal Thanksgiving stories.

Has anyone's Thanksgiving ever gone like this?
Has anyone’s Thanksgiving ever gone this smoothly? (image from wikipedia.org)

I considered myself fortunate. We were traveling for Thanksgiving, meaning I wasn’t going to have to cook (a good thing for all involved – just ask my hubby sometime about my poultry cooking skills). I didn’t have to clean. All I was expected to do was to enjoy time with my family. Silly me. I forgot that I was traveling with a toddler.

I had barely closed my eyes on Thanksgiving eve when I heard my toddler’s cry in the adjacent room which he was sharing with his brother. I immediately sprang out of bed to see what was the matter worried that might wake up the rest of the household. I was ready to once again hear, “Where Monkey Man?” This time however it wasn’t merely a request to locate his favorite toy, he was sick, and not just with the sniffles.

I rushed him to the bath while the hubby took care of the linens. Eventually, we were forced to turn the lights on while I rummaged through his bag looking for his spare set of pajamas. It turned out I needn’t worry about waking his brother. My eldest didn’t even bother turning over. (Man, I wish I could still sleep like that!)

Cleaned up, my toddler clung to me like a life raft. The hubby passed by carrying our travel toddler cot. (You could smell it from a distance.) Even if we had a spare set of sheets, kiddo wasn’t going to be able to sleep on it again anytime soon. I had resigned myself to a night on the couch or rocking chair when the hubby came by again. This time with a pillow in hand. He volunteered to stay on the couch so that our son and I might sleep more comfortably on a bed.

In hindsight, I think in the end he may have gotten the better end of the deal.

It was still a loooooonnnnng a night. At home, my toddler’s bed is near the ground and has guard rails. My in-law’s guest bed, on the other hand, is very tall and all sides are completely exposed. Each time my kiddo shifted, I worried he might slip over the side and plummet to the ground. I was afraid that the cries we had already heard that night would be whispers in comparison. I tried to pull him back closer to me, but that only served to wake him up enough to remind him that his tummy was still upset.

Several trips back to the bathroom later (progressively less necessary),  I realized that what I was doing wasn’t working. Unless I wanted to be completely worthless the following day, I was going to have to find a way for both of us to sleep. I realized I was going to have to give him more freedom of movement. I placed a few pillows near the bed’s edge, just in case, but then I let him go. Soon I heard soft, contented snores and I allowed myself to also fall into a light sleep.

I awoke hours later to the touch of small fingers on my forehead. (Oh no! Dawn is still hours away – please, please try to go back to sleep!) My little boy whispered, “Where mommy go?”

I answered, “Mommy’s here. Are you okay?” (yep, the couch was definitely the better option)

“I better.” Then no more words. Instead, he snuggled next to me, and the soft snores resumed in short order. Even though I knew right then that it was only a matter of time before I came down with whatever illness my toddler turned outbreak monkey possessed (4 days to be exact), I couldn’t help but smile. I’ll take what I can get.

My toddler used to only want to be with me. Then one day he stopped, and now prefers the company of his dad. All too soon, I know this stage will also be over and he’ll only want to be around his friends. I’ll eventually have to let him find his own way in life, but it is good to know that he’ll still look for mommy now and then.

27 thoughts on “The cranberry sauce has landed. A thanksgiving perspective”

  3. Cranberry sauce on the floor. Ugh. I shudder at the thought of what an extended mess that could potentially make if not cleaned up right away. Sad about your sick son. (Smart hubby, though, “volunteering” to sleep on the couch. Ha!) 🙂

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      2. He took care of the boys while I took a loooooooonnnnngggg nap after lunch so all was forgiven, eventually. Luckily it was a quick bug and we were all healthy well before Christmas. (And I may have lost all my thanksgiving weight as a result so that was a plus)

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  4. So lovely and cute, Allie. When my grandson has grammy and grampy weekend, he and I sleep in the guest room. I can so relate to the wiggler and the hyper-vigilance about the edge of the bed. Makes me tired just to think about it. Have a great Thanksgiving 🙂

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    1. The rolls didn’t make it, sending my stepmom out on a stealth mission to the grocery store and my niece and nephew jointly decided the turkey was poisoned and staged a protest against evil adults but overall it was great.

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    1. I’m just as thankful you are in mine too!

      The kids getting older isn’t all that bad. Kiddo made us all lunch today all by himself. Admittedly it was a salad the size of napkin, but it is the thought that counts.

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  9. Sigh. My own daughter got sick with an illness this Thanksgiving, so it was hard to keep gratitude in perspective. And yet…I realize now I’m thankful to even have a daughter to clean and care for! She’s still wrestling with the virus now so if you could pass some good vibes our family’s way, I’ll definitely be sending yours good vibes for the rest of the holidays (and, you know, the year and, you know, life!)

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    1. Passing on as many good vibes as I can for a speedy recovery! The bug going around hit Kiddo on Monday, but thankfully was only a 24 hr thing. Now I am waiting for my turn. At least I’ll lose my Thanksgiving weight, so that will be something.

      And thank you!

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