AFTER THOUGHTS

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future– Gail Lumet Buckley

The Grand party was a success

The disgruntled brother in law showed up, and my two older sisters acted like nothing had happened. I sigh of relief for me. It truly was a wonderful party I wish I could have been there. I was so busy playing hostess I tend to be in that frame of mind like, hanging up coats, tossing shoes into the basket by the door, making sure everyone has a drink, Grandpa pa likes black coffee with equal, Uncle Jim wants black decaf, nephew Brandon wants a beer- bring him a holiday spice Pepsi, Father Vic wants red wine-but of course, refill the nut dish, empty trash x 7, make counter room for arriving dishes, help perplexed guests with finding things: can opener, lighter, directions to the house, remote control, cutting knife, bathroom. I assigned my oldest niece the honorary job of being my party assistant and photographer, she lit 17 candles, made a double batch of my creamy crab spread, managed the difficult task of deciding who sits where -I just told her to make sure the x’s aren’t sitting together.

WE HAD PLENTY OF POTATOS BB can attest to this because he had to peel all of them. He cooked one big Turky and an even bigger honey glazed country ham. His mother “Mrs Martha Steward” cooked a Turkey at her house and brought it over. I made my Cranberry dish and 57 polish sausage rolls from the secret recipe that has been handed down to me from great- great aunt Rose) My sisters brought two veggie trays, 3 relish trays with olives, pickles, and some undetermined pickled things, fruit salad, toss salad, broc salad, marshmallow cream jello salad, green been casserole x 2, 5 pumpkin pies, 2 cherry pies, 1 Alligator pie, chocolate cake, Lemon bars, and a carrot cake. There were 4 bottles of merlot, 2 bottles of Chardeny, 3 bottles of sparkling non-alcohol wine, 6 Caronas for bnl James, 18 long necked Millers, 12 spice pepsi and 24 juice boxes for the kids.

Everyone was filled to the brim.

I decided this year that the elder adults will not do the dishes as they have done in thanksgivings past, I made a proclamation and put forth a new tradition; it was now time for the sisters to do the dishes. They took it with good stride and pitched in we had quite the assembly line going with never ending amount of plates, silverware, glasses, and chargers. I did have to nudge a few of the elders out of the kitchen, guessing that old habits are hard to die.

Things that made me smile and have pride in my family: five giggly little girls in the hot tub after dinner, Miss Brit losing her freshman 15, little Mariah pounding her Indian drum whilst all of us singing little drummer boy,finding my teenage nieces; Michele, Melanie and Carrie hanging low and chilling in my computer room. I let them burn music and make me a cd of their favorite songs. We have re-named this room the “Swirlly girl room” They want to have a girls only weekend with me because they think I’m cool, In awh of the children with their heads bowed and hands folding in prayer as uncle victor prays with them.-like such good little catholic girls, last dish being washed, helping the five giggly girls into my soaking tub and squirting them with shower gel, “wishy washing”, sharing my dvd slide show of family pictures I have taken this year, watching how touched they all were is undescribable it’s making me cry right now.

This house is quite now it is the day after, the tables are still set up, floors are a mess, candles all burnt down, only 4 broken wine glasses this year and no fires! They came in like a whirl wind and left just the same 6 hours later. I miss them already. I have learned family is more important than any worldly riches, it’s the things of the heart that matter the most in life.