Honestly, I didn't love this year's Thanksgiving. The day itself was very nice and I enjoyed seeing so much of my extended family. In fact, there were 31 of us altogether at my aunt's house, and only my sister and Robert were missing from the family. It was nice to see everyone, and Robert even took a couple of moments and FaceTimed so he could say hello to everyone.
The rest of the holiday though, was a little rough. The kids had swim Tuesday evening, and I was working frantically trying to get the house picked up. In fact, I worked until 10:00 that evening, and the kids were helping also. I ended up sleeping on the couch because that way I could go ahead and change the sheets on our bed because I was fairly certain I wouldn't have time on Wednesday...and I would've been correct!
The kids had swim first thing Wednesday morning so we were all up by 7. I had to be at the band fundraiser by 8:45. It was 9:30 before I got home, and since my van was full of greenery (the first of many trips) I needed to unload it myself. I had an appointment at 11, then ran a band errand, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to my actual shift at the fundraiser. I finished with that at 3:30 (with another van load of greenery) and dashed home to get dinner started. Andrew and his parents arrived about ten minutes later. We got dinner started, and Andrew and the kids began cleaning out the van so we could drive it the next day. After dinner Catherine made dessert to take to the family meal, and we mostly just hung out and watched TV. We even spent some time watching Thanksgiving episodes of "Friends" which is a tradition we do every year when we can make it happen.
I went to bed early, but didn't sleep well. In fact, I woke up not feeling well Thursday morning, mostly from sinuses. My in-laws were in no particular hurry to get moving that morning, which was tough for Andrew and I to get ready since there were things we had forgotten to get out of our room the night before. There were lots of little frustrations that occurred, and as we were leaving (later than I had told everyone we needed to leave) I fell. I'd had a bad toe anyway, and it took everything I had not to cry in front of everyone.
I went to bed even earlier Thursday night, but woke up feeling even worse Friday morning. We were having breakfast with Andrew's parents before they all left, but the place we wanted to eat was closed. That meant a big chain restaurant, but I was concerned because I had to get the church payroll submitted. I suggested a different place to eat, but Andrew's parents didn't want to eat there. Of course, the wait for our food was just as outrageous as I was convinced it would be, and the ONLY thing I was able to accomplish at church was the payroll. I would have been able to get a little more done, but Andrew locked himself out of the house as he was trying to leave with Thomas to take his parents home, and I had to run home and let him in before doing my afternoon shift at the band fundraiser. Because it was the last shift, all of the greenery that hadn't been picked up had to be loaded into my van and brought home. Another parent who volunteered with me is a packing genius, and although the van was packed to the brim, I got it all home in one trip. Of course since Andrew and Thomas had left, that meant I was unloading it on my own. I had to get all the bedsheets changed again so Catherine could sleep in her bed (where we sleep when my in-laws are here) and I could sleep in my bed, but I was able to meet some friends for a quick drink before Catherine and I tumbled into bed early again.
Catherine had to work all day Saturday, and I had to make some band deliveries. I was able to be home by the time Ohio State kicked off, but since I had awakened feeling poorly again I didn't get nearly as much done as I had wanted. The only chance we were going to have to decorate the tree together was Saturday evening, and I needed to have the trees ready before that. However, I couldn't put the living room tree up before the train platform was down, and I didn't even know where that was. Andrew and Thomas left his parents 90 minutes later than I had expected them to, and I needed them for the platform. I was able to get the first tree put together and was putting lights on it while the platform was put together. Unfortunately, I realized that most of the lights had stopped working form the year before, so we needed to purchase new. Catherine got off work an hour early, so she joined the guys in a "quick" trip to get more lights...which took a ridiculous amount of time. When they got back, I realized Andrew had purchased the wrong lights, but he needed to pick up the pizza we ordered. I ran back to exchange the lights while Andrew got the pizza. When I got home I realized I these lights weren't right either, and also realized that Andrew had put mushrooms on the entire pizza. I don't eat mushrooms...never have in all of our married lives. Can't do it. He is aware of this, and it meant I had no pizza for dinner. At this point I really wanted to cry, but I had to get back to exchange the lights...again. I finally put the lights on and we finally started with the ornaments after 9:30 that night. None of us really felt like doing it, but Catherine had to work all day Sunday so it was our only shot at doing it together. Poor Catherine was so tired she just wanted to go to bed. We were all very tired, and instead of fun memories, it was just tiring work.
We couldn't wait until this weekend though, because Thomas and Andrew are headed back to Pittsburgh again. I know that overall life is very much blessed, but this was definitely not the break any of us were hoping it would be. I knew things would be different than the last several years, but I didn't expect it to be so exhausting. On the upside, the house is almost decorated, and the band fundraiser is beginning to wrap up!
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