Recap of the Thanksgiving/Christmas family gathering

Would love to post about Christmas, but first I have to cover Thanksgiving, even though it was a bit difficult, and I am way behind in my posting. I wish I had photos from Thanksgiving, or maybe I don’t. It was not the best year for us. In spite of all the preparations and making so much ahead of time, and our kids wanting to lessen the work by supplementing our favorite family side dishes with an ordered-in-turkey, and additional sides, it was chaos in the kitchen — trying to keep everything hot, finding a place for the extra food, doing some last minute prep. You get the picture.

Somehow we did manage to say a special prayer picked out by John, a prayer from Abraham Lincoln with his thoughts on celebrating our country’s founding and the blessings that surround us by setting aside and establishing a special day of Thanksgiving.

Now we have to work to simplify the celebration, so all of us can enjoy the special day. Roasting the turkey out on the grill would be a good first step. Convincing everyone that working in the kitchen together can be part of the fun is another. (Good luck with that, right!?!) And, yes cutting out a few of the side dishes is a possibility. Using disposable serving dishes is another. And the big one is to let go of the magazine picture-perfect ideal. As the kids say, it’s the people, not the perfect table which is the goal. And I know they are right, but as someone who loves decorating, it is not easy for me.

From getting out the napkins, to adding the Thanksgiving touches, and making the broth for the tortellini, there was a lot of prep, not to mention preparing for overnight guests. I think many women can identify to some extent with what I am describing. There are so many must haves for Thanksgiving dinner that it is hard to simplify.

This was actually the day after Thanksgiving, in the parish hall where we all gathered to make tortellini. I believe we’ve been doing it for 20 years. Most of those pictured were not even born when we began. But I think Mom has to be happy that we’ve carried on her recipe, and now several of the crew make their own as part of their own traditions.

Logo on T-shirts courtesy of Michael Hammes who many years ago, along with his family, moved in to the house right behind us. Mike was DJ’s playmate and his friend, even now. His family was our long time neighbor in Rockford. Michael and DJ both ended up in Baltimore. Just this past Christmas Eve, DJ, Dawn, and Mike along with Mike’s fiancé, Emma, got together in Maryland to make their own tortellini – continuing the tradition.

After making the tortellini in the parish hall, we returned home to share in the fruit of our labors by having a bowl of tortellini with leftover turkey mini sandwiches, and a piece of pie.

Then on to the cousin gift exchange. Because the far away families do not return for Christmas we give them their “nana and papa” gifts at Thanksgiving, too. With 20 grandchildren, their gifts which used to be an outfit and a book or toy for each child, has devolved to pajamas and a “little something” for each one. It’s hard to believe how excited some are with their pjs.

Lucas spotting the end loader on one pajama top, “tractor, tractor”

The girls are a bit more restrained in their reactions.

We love having everyone home and certainly wish they all lived closer. The departures were gradual, some departing that evening, others on Saturday, and our last departures very early on Monday.

An Italian sausage and spinach strata for our Sunday morning breakfast

John and I crashed after our very early morning send-offs, feeling sad to see everyone gone. Then we ended up getting the flu or bronchitis, something that’s going around. John got the worst of it, and the cough has lasted longer for him. I had a flu shot, and although I was down for a few days, I was able to bounce back sooner. It takes a bout of illness to make you fully realize that “when you have your health, you have just about everything”. We are very grateful for our good health.