A Great Thanksgiving

I sit here in a post-Thanksgiving food coma, my stomach bulging and my mind reliving the great day I had today with my family.

I woke up late in the morning because I had gone to bed early in the morning...6:15 AM to be precise. I was up late writing blog entries and creating a card for my daughter's 17th birthday. The day I gave birth to her happened to be Thanksgiving day and this was the first time her birthday and the holiday fell on the same day in a long time so this Thanksgiving was extra-special.

She had prepared a list of things she wanted for her birthday, most of which concerned food. She wanted a special meal, she wanted her favorite treats, some funky socks and the latest books in the series she is reading. Between my sister and I, we managed to give her everything that was on her list and then some. My son surprised her with a red velvet cake, my mom made her special Jello mold, a family favorite and I ordered the gourmet Italian cookies that she (and I) love. There were desserts galore. My daughter felt very special and said that this birthday ranked among her top birthdays of all time.

The day was special for me, too, in a variety of ways. For one thing, I didn't have to stress over making a tremendous meal for a large number of people. I cooked just for the four of us. Getting the house ready for guests was not a frenzy of cleaning and polishing. Because I had been cleaning a little here and there over a few weeks, it was a matter of a little light dusting, a quick sweeping, a fresh set of towels and temporarily hiding the clutter. The best thing of all was that my husband cooperated without my having to say a word and my son did what was asked of him the first time it was asked. Wow! That rarely happens. After dinner we immediately cleaned up and put the extra food away. By the time my parents and my sister's family arrived, my dishes were in the dishwasher, my kitchen was clean and everything was so neat you'd never know there had been a grand dinner there only half an hour before. And I managed to do this without breaking a sweat or rushing around like a madwoman. The dessert phase was more of the same. Everything ran like clockwork from set up to goodbyes and final cleanup. My kitchen was again spic and span in less than half an hour and all the goodies had been safely packed away.

I don't even know how I managed to do it. I just seemed to flow from one thing to the next without a worry. Wish I could figure out that magic formula and bottle it. I'm hoping for some more of that mojo to carry through the rest of this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.


Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva