Let the holidays begin.

We celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with my extended family. Here’s how we kicked off the holiday season:

I woke at my parents house at what I thought was 6 o’clock. It was actually only 5 o’clock – the clock in my room had not been changed for the daylight savings. Mom was already awake cleaning the house and soon took her mid-morning nap…or what she refers to as “restful prayer time,” though I doubt there are any prayers happening when she begins snoring. And so after coffee and breakfast and waking up truly, I began preparing the turkey.

After the turkey was in the oven, Mom and I were forced to work together. I’ve mentioned our tendency to frustrate one another – this is why I typically run the kitchen and she does the rest, but I was too prepared and had spare time. (She has difficulty focusing on the big picture. I’m too controlling. So the story goes . . .)

Finally it was time to check the turkey and put out the appetizers. I look for the meat thermometer. Mom says she thinks she packed it with my things when I moved out. Crap! In a panic, I grabbed my purse and darted to my car to buy a meat thermometer. It wasn’t until I was half way to the store that I realized I was wearing my bedroom slippers. (I’m just grateful I was wearing a bra!)

I made the mistake of getting a digital thermometer and may have freaked out while we struggled to get the battery in place. I was meant to check the turkey 20 minutes ago! But I soon found the turkey cooked to the right temperature and ready to rest. At this point, Dad and Rae are making fun of my tendency to talk to the bird and mumble under my breath. I was not, though it may be perceived differently, in a bad mood. I was simply focused on completing the task well.

The rest of the family arrived and the meal was perfect and everyone was happy.

Here’s how we finished the kick-off to the holiday season:

I opened the refrigerator door to take home some pumpkin pie. Both the pumpkin and pecan pies fell to their demise, along with my mother’s best pie plate. This is more devastating than you may realize. I love, love pumpkin pie.

Overall, the day was filled with good food, words uplifting and not-so-uplifting, laughter, adjustments, and love. By the end of it, we were all blissfully exhausted.

Let the holiday season begin. I can’t wait to cook my non-traditional Thanksgiving food on Thursday.

Also...

The fact that Friends is on Nick at Night and Everybody Loves Raymond is on TV Land makes me feel downright elderly.

Perhaps also a problem is that I actually watch these channels. I remember a time when I thought Nick at Night was lame.

27.

Several weeks ago…

Rae: What do you want to do for your birthday?

Me: I don’t know. Probably nothing. It’s 27, nothing special.

Rae: Oh my God. I can’t believe you’re that old. That was weird to hear just now. Wow, you’re 27.

Me: Exactly. Not celebrating.

Rae: That’s even more reason to do something. Man, 27 was a terrible year.

Me: Thanks, Rae. This conversation keeps getting better and better.

Twenty-seven. That is solidly creeping toward 30. But that’s not why I feel old. (David told me the other day that I am an old soul – my siblings are so uplifting!) I feel old because I find myself thinking on a regular basis things like: “Dude, just pull up your pants” and “Kids these days.”

I feel old because I use the word “kids” to refer to college aged people. Because college aged people call me ma’am and Ms. Martin and Ms. Amber. Because I do remember “back when.” Because I put a “the” in front of words that don’t require it – like “the MARTA” or “the Kroger.” Because I really don’t understand why some youtube videos are funny or why some pop songs are popular.

But none of this is very new. I’ve always been a little older than my number. (I am an old soul.) What is new though is this feeling that society asks more from me, or soon will. I am running out of this grace period where wandering is still ok and not having a solid career or family life or semblance of stability is acceptable. Perhaps to some I am well past this grace period.

Here I am anyway, at twenty..seven.. trying to figure out life, still.

Twenty seven could be a great year. In a few months I will be embarking on a new adventure. What that adventure will be is yet to be defined, but let’s not talk about that right now. (Enter my Scarlett O’Hara mode = think about it tomorrow and survive against all the odds, and vow never to go hungry again.)

Whatever adventure it is, whether it’s more school or more travel or more working for little to no money or more unemployment, it’s always worked itself into an exciting sort of tale. It will be something new, and that is always stimulating. Hard sometimes, sure, but invigorating nonetheless.

This past year has been absolutely amazing, truly and shockingly against all my worries that it may not be, so this can only bode well for this coming year . . . right?

Fall perfection

There are a few things in this world that elicit a sort of feeling of transcendence.

Among those things for me are (of course) chocolate and a perfect fall day. Yesterday was a perfect fall day. The temperature was just brisk enough that breathing in through my nose stung a little while I was taking a walk. The crunch of the leaves beneath my feet broke the silence of the afternoon just as it should. The sky was as blue as sky-blue-possible. (And later the moon was bright and inviting.) The colors of the trees are brilliant. It was brilliant.

It’s almost enough to make you forget all your frustrations and worries and shortcomings. It’s one of those lose-yourself-in-the-goodness kind of days.

And today seems like a repeat. Happy fall! Enjoy the day.

Reminiscence

Friday night. Cheap wine. Marathon Sex and the City episodes. It could be freshmen year of college again. All that is missing is my girls.

But alas, it is no longer 2004 anymore. It is nearly 2012 – eek, 8 years! No, it is certainly not 2004. How things have changed. We’ve grown so; we’ve done so much; some of us are married; some of us are mommies! How did this happen?

It sometimes feels that we all live such separate lives. It sometimes feels, although you know that you know that there are people who would always and forever be there for you when you need them, it sometimes feels that as grown up people we live our lives fully alone – despite whomever and whatever we occupy ourselves with each day. I, at least, sometimes feel disconnected.

I suppose this is simply the reality of things. Things must change. We must move along. Move along.

Some things have not changed. I still love Steve Brady. (I’m still Miranda circa season 2.) I still hate Big. Aiden Shaw is still sexy. I still enjoy cheap wine. I wish my girls were here.

There’s a very huge part of me that wishes we all lived on the same hall again. I wish we all had the freedom of time to spend every weekend visiting one another wherever we happened to be in our lives.

But then, we all live such fabulous lives now – and who wouldn’t miss that? ;)

Halloween Thought

A short post:

A realization after browsing your Halloween facebook pics..

If you are under the age of 10, Halloween is the cutest of all the holidays.

If you are over the age of 18, Halloween is the skankiest of all the holidays.

I think it can go either way in between those ages - and that is up to the parents. (Good luck parents.)