Now that Halloween is over,our thoughts turn to Thanksgiving. Logistically speaking, trying to get more than two dozen family members to agree on a date for our annual gettogethers is getting to be a nightmare. Every year we acquire more as the granddaughters marry and start families of their own.
I think rainy days and Mondays are made for spending hours group texting a dozen women in our family in charge of their families' schedules attempting to nail down a date. I love watching the rain from the coziness of my abode. Rainy Mondays are the perfect time to stay indoors and plan. I am thankful for any moisture we can get. I think we ended up with three or four inches. Thankfully, we avoided the severe weather that many suffered. I know I'm 'different' but I love a good old-fashioned thunderstorm.
I hate not having the holidays on the official days but that flew out the window many years ago and I've resigned myself to watching parades, holiday movies and football. Somehow, as the children and grandchildren married, we were moved lower on the totem pole of importance.
Our daughter, daughterin- law and I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to set a date for all of us to get together and, as usual, it's turning into a real chore. To achieve this monumental task, it seems like it requires all the strategic planning of a foreign invasion with probably a lot less hassle. No one consults the other side to see what date works best before making an announcement. Someone chimes in that date will never do and it's back to the old drawing board again.
One granddaughter is a new mother so I just know her new in-laws will seize the day if she, her husband and son don't accompany her parents to her other grandparents' home as is their normal modus operandi. One granddaughter works on weekends while she attends college. Another started a new job that requires her to work all the dang time. Another granddaughter is in her senior year of college and her activities keep her busy regardless of what day it is. Our son works a rotating schedule so I can never keep up with his days off. He gets up before the chickens are even thinking of starting their day and gets home in the late afternoon/early evenings which is kind of ironic considering he's never been a morning person.
Anyway, I thought we might have finally nailed down a time by my volunteering to host a comeand- go finger foods weekend instead of a one-anddone sit-down meal. It was not received with the enthusiasm I had been hoping for. The girls did volunteer, as they usually do, to help with the meal so all of the work doesn't fall on me and Papa and it looks like it's going to be an interesting repast. So far the menu will consist of turkey, ham, chicken and dumplings, crack chicken (I don't know what that is but it sounds interesting), mashed potatoes, yams with marshmallows, dressing, broccoli rice casserole, deviled eggs, mac n cheese, green bean casserole, bacon wrapped asparagus and hot rolls plus my famous pecan pies (made with walnuts) and pumpkin pies with whipped cream topping. If anyone goes home hungry it'll be their own dang fault with this eclectic offering.
My main job, besides figuring out where in the heck everyone is going to sit, will be baking the ham, whipping up a few sides and the pies plus furnishing lots of ice and paper goods. I don't own enough place settings for two dozen family members, so paper it is. Besides, that's what decorative paper plates and napkins are for, right?