Silence in the car.
"You mean a real one?" asked James.
I looked in the rear view mirror.
"Yes, a real one. But it's not alive anymore," knowing that they pictured a bird fully feathered, wandering around our basement.
"Well, where is it?"
"In the refrigerator, in a box."
Silence again.
"Mom, who killed it and how?" inquired Levi sincerely.
James turned to him before I could answer, "The Farmer, Levi...with a rake!" He said it with such certainty that it was a little alarming.
"No, no James!!! countered Levi, "I think it was the butcher with a knife!"
Caleb stayed silent and looked contemplative and sad.
Hmmm,...this conversation was getting a little disturbing; I mean, how did they even know about killing or knives or anything like that!? Weren't they supposed to live in my bubble I've created for them?! :(
When we got home, three very determined men were scaling the tree in front of our house, sawing it down, branch by branch with a loud chain saw. This tree had been marked for weeks; we knew that it was an expiring tree that had to be taken down, but I wasn't expecting it to be today.
The sight of them sawing my tree up made me shutter. The boys stood in awe and sadness.
Talk about butchering up a turkey, and now this?! I know it was a dying tree, but still, watching these men hack away and butcher up our tree limb by limb seemed barbaric in this moment.
My boys were truly being thrust into the real world this afternoon. As soon as they were done the man came over to me, shook my hand and told me the other tall tree in my yard was dead and that he should come back and saw that one down too. I reluctantly agreed and he painted a big green X on it and drove away.
So much for the dream of living in an old growth forest.
I walked inside, a bit depressed that my yard was going to be treeless. James and Levi followed me in a bit sad as well, but Caleb? Caleb, as usual, decided to turn lemons into lemonade . He was perched proudly on top of the remaining tree stump, singing his heart out ("Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I'll love you tomorrow!"), preforming for all the neighbors and stray cats. He had a huge grin on his face, for he declared that he had a new stage.
Earlier that day the boys had their preschool Thanksgiving party. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without homemade pilgrim hats and colorful paper feathers.
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| Preschool forever in my heart |
I volunteered to help out with it because I so want to soak up this final preschool Thanksgiving experience.
I helped serve their "feast," little rolled turkey lunch meat, dishes of mandarin oranges and pumpkin spice mousse. It was a sight to behold, all those little preschoolers eating together in a civilized manner on their beautifully decorated table.
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| Pin the tail on the turkey! |
So innocent in their childhood lives, that even hearing of a turkey's death brings despair.
John had to be in NYC for work a few days before Thanksgiving. He ordered the turkey weeks ago but I had to go pick it up with instructions from him to "have it chopped."
"How do you want it chopped, Ma'me?" the butcher asked me.
"Um, in pieces."
John is truly the Captain of Thanksgiving. I feel like he trains the entire year for this one day. It's his marathon, his big event, and he takes it very seriously.
He wanted the turkey chopped into sections because he had several ways in which he wanted to cook each part. Experimentation.
Culinary adventure.
The works.
This is what it excites him. He will settle for nothing than the best.
Will this be the year he masters Thanksgiving?!
I participate by preparing my traditional sweet potato casserole. It's a pretty basic recipe but everyone says they look forward to it. It's the kind of thing you can only eat once a year.
I kind of want to make it in the middle of July sometime, just to see if people are still as excited about it.
I gave Evie and Levi the task of skinning the sweet potatoes for me. It turned out to be a messy amusing task, but they eventually got the job done.
Caleb sat in the corner making little paper turkeys to decorate our table.
James, well he lingered around the Chef, requesting the job of "taste tester" of all sweet things. This boy knows his place in the world.
The day of Thanksgiving arrived, and we started the morning out with our annual "Friendsgiving". One of the greatest blessings in my life is living so close to three dear family friends. Showing up in pajamas, John unveiled his new TV downstairs and we had on the Macy's parade along with some simple breakfast and coffee. Our adult conversation covered topics such as the "best vacuum cleaner brands" and "why mini vans are the way to go". We had no idea who any of the pop singers were on television. We laughed at ourselves when we realized that we are fully immersed in suburbia family life and we've become "those people" we vowed we'd never become! I love it.
Later in the day was the finale! The Thanksgiving feast! We had John's parents, his brother, Rob, wife, Melissa and their two girls and his Aunt Mary. 13 people in all!
This year I nixed the kids table. I extended the table to include everyone. I set everyone with "real" plates, and "real" cloth napkins and "real' silverware. It was a sight to behold. It didn't seem too long ago when we were hurriedly eating Thanksgiving dinner while I put the boys down for their nap!
Or being completely and utterly exhausted by the end of the day that I was spinning. This Thanksgiving was so so different. The cousins played so nicely together. The boys sat politely at the table. We watched a movie as a family and everyone paid attention and enjoyed it! I felt relaxed, joyful and really really grateful.
One of the highlights for me was the pie raffle. As always, we seem to have at least five different pies for dessert. This year, the cousins made a smaller, individual pie out of the remains of the other pies. They had the brilliant idea of "raffling off the pie" to one lucky cousin who could enjoy the entire thing for themself. Who do you think won it?!
Caleb.
Needless to say, he was absolutely thrilled when his personal pie was set before him. He sat requested ice cream on top of it at least three times and refused to give up his position long after everyone else retired to the couch.
James on the other hand was absolutely devastated he didn't win the coveted pie. Eventually I was able to convince him that having as many slices as you want of any pie you want at the table was just as good. Yes, I do permit my kids to indulge in as many slices of pie as they want on Thanksgiving. And they do take advantage of this freedom.
At last we all digested on the couch, watching Toy Story. It really was a wonderful Thanksgiving, and of course, we ended the day with Christmas Pajamas! I like to commence the long anticipated Christmas season with festive sleeping attire. I hear by grant permission for Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas movies and all things Santa related.
This year, actually as I write, Gramie and Grandpa treated all six grandkids to Portland's Singing Christmas Tree production downtown. We loaded those kids up in their Expedition and bid farewell for a few quiet hours. The car was electric with excitement and I'm eager to hear how it all went. During our kidless afternoon, John and I were able to get downtown and enjoy lunch at Portland's top ramen soup spot, Marukin Ramen with Rob and Melissa. A real treat.
Now to Christmas!
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