‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
Six months ago, the family moved to a new town. Thus far, things have been busy: where to put the furniture, who gets to sleep in which room and luckily, we only lost one Heisey glass vase when it mysteriously appeared in a box with the vase in pieces. The kids settled down nicely.
Sara looked around her home with pride. Thanksgiving was almost there. The turkey roasted and rested until warmed up that evening as her mother would be arriving for her stay with them until Saturday. The whole family was eager to see Grandma. This was the night before Thanksgiving.
Here is an episode which offers thoughtfulness for you. Here is the rundown on the family.
Molly is the oldest child. Molly and Bill were both getting ready to graduate from high school in the spring. She is the first born, beautiful and daring. She’s loved to act in school plays and planned to go to college, but had not decided how to use her beauty and acting ability.
Bill is a year younger. They don’t mingle at high school as he runs with a different crowd, with plans to major in Business at a state school like UT-Austin. He is his grandmother’s favorite. Bill seems to enjoy the stories she tells him about her life.
Molly was “seeing some guy,” who obviously was head over heels in love with her. Why wouldn’t he be? She’s vivacious and talented, but more serious about their friendship than what and where she’ll be this time next year.
The two other kids were aged ten and five, when we scooped up the tribe to move. They found the town refreshing. Eric, the ten-year-old, loves sports. He’s kicking a soccer ball all the time, plus he gets good grades and suffers with the little guy. We try to make it to all his games, while Tommy, the baby, kicks the ball around the sidelines.
Part 2
Sara works from home, making phone calls for the legal department in a big law firm. Bart, the husband, works for a technical company and he doesn’t always get to attend the many games with this family. Sara usually takes the kids but they are talking about upcoming needs for better or more vehicles.
Both Bart and his wife worry about Molly and the amount of time she and her boyfriend spend together. She’s on her phone constantly, it seems. She rarely offers to help.
The smells were divine as the family worked hard to cook everything. Grandma arrived early that day from Ohio and “graciously” accepted the cot in Molly’s room for Grandma’s visit. Molly was not pleased, but Grandma helped with the cooking and the daily dish washing. Sara will miss her mom when she goes home on Saturday. Grandma loved being with her family until Saturday. The smells danced throughout the house with laughter the day before Thanksgiving.
Anyhow, pre-Thanksgiving went well despite the fact that our family had only moved there last summer. Everything seemed to be going well except for the little guy who screamed for the top bunk. His mom was afraid he’d fall. He didn’t.
This day before Thanksgiving the kitchen was dreary and messy in the morning, but everyone had chores to make sure the house looked and smelled good. Not only was the usual food done, Bart bought three different pies and heated them. Even Grandma thought everything went well, although she turned up her nose for eating “on the wrong day.”
Part 3
Around 2:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, Bart, the husband, heard noise like rocks hitting outside the window where Grandma and Molly were sleeping on that fateful date. Bart walked around the outside of the house (probably with his shotgun) and moseyed up to Molly’s boyfriend Allen who was outside standing there shivering with Molly. The stones hitting the window glass awoke Molly who was wearing her pink bathrobe and no shoes. Grandma screamed and cried.
“What’s going on out here?” Bart barked. Our dog started howling. He wanted out. The young one slept but Bill and Eric bounced from their rooms to the yard. The family lost sleep and saw the boyfriend and our darling daughter being admonished with “Just get in the house” and “You wait while I contact your parents.”
Part 4
The boyfriend’s family amazed us that night when Bart called them. Both Allen’s mom and dad claimed Molly enticed their darling son to steal their car out of the garage and drive to HER home. Sweet Molly was the culprit. She put him up to taking their car. It felt like a long conversation, listening carefully to “who did what?” And there stood Miss Innocence in a pink bathrobe.
Yes, it seems like 100 years ago now. Neither one of the players is nearby. What did we learn? What did the kids learn? Although the fracas brought the neighbors out in the middle of night no one got hurt and it could have turned into something worse. Hostility was low.
Our darling young adults went different ways the following year. How in the world did they cope or not cope? And we lost a little shut-eye that evening. What were they thinking? What would you do?
May your Thanksgiving bring memories and stories to recall. Happy Thanksgiving!