There is much to be thankful for this year

What a fantastic holiday weekend! I hope that you enjoyed your time off – if you were lucky enough to have some; and enjoyed your time with family and friends – if you were lucky enough to have some of that!

And I certainly hope you enjoyed your turkey, or ham, or chili, or omelets – or whatever you made for your Thanksgiving feast.

The weather was gorgeous, although I wouldn’t have argued if it had been just a tad colder on Thursday and Friday. If I’m going to be in my kitchen for most of the day cooking … then it needs to be cool. What can I say … I’m HOT!

My plans for that night were simple – as they always are on Thanksgiving Eve (especially if I have worked that day). They are: A) To do a little food prep and bake my pumpkin pie and B) Watch “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” starring Steve Martin and John Candy.

Scot and I have been watching that movie since we started dating in 1991! It is our tradition. And we have to watch it on Thanksgiving Eve, because that’s when most of the “action” in the film takes place. If you have never seen this movie – try to catch it sometime. Yes, it’s a little dated, what with it being from 1987 and all, but it is hysterical. And if you have ever run into travel snafus at the holidays – you’ll be able to relate.

Be careful if you watch it with the kids, though, because there is one side-splitting scene where Steve Martin says a certain word (that begins with the sixth letter of the alphabet) – 18 times (we counted).

For the past several years, the boys have been part of the festivities. We have dinner and pop in the movie. It gets us ready for the holiday! My future daughters-in-law are going to just love me for getting this tradition so ingrained in my sons’ heads, and for helping them to develop a sense of humor that “gets” the comedy of those two actors!

I did successfully get my pie made, which I wasn’t sure I would be able to do. We’ve been having some issues with our oven lately: sometimes it turns on and sometimes it takes a LONG time to pre-heat, if it pre-heats at all. In fact, I debated whether or not to even cook a turkey this year. I suggested steaks on the grill, which would have taken the oven out of the equation. But Brannon didn’t really like that idea, “because turkey is what you eat on Thanksgiving,” he said. So - we decided to roll the dice.

After I successfully got the oven to pre-heat (quickly, too), and got the pie baked, I was feeling optimistic.

The next morning, I turned the oven on to pre-heat at about 7 a.m. I figured if I could get it to turn on, I would just keep it on all day. And if it didn’t turn on, I would still have some time to try again. Lo and behold, it came right on. And again, the thermometer was correct.

Not happy with that, I just had to adjust the temperature – and it turned OFF! The turkey was ready to go in, and I couldn’t get the oven heated! I panicked, afraid that we would be eating oatmeal, and dragged Scot to the grocery store to see what I could throw on the grill. When I got home, after checking the oven that had been pre-heating for 90 minutes, I “accidentally” slammed the door. That did the trick – 10 minutes later, the oven was properly heated and cooking our turkey. We ate late – but we ate – and we ate turkey!

After dinner, we took a little drive to look at Christmas lights, and to see how many people were headed out to shop. We drove by Walmart – and the parking lot was an absolute zoo! Then we drove over to the Target in Exeter, which was opening at 9 p.m. I was amazed at the number of people standing in line. There were three police cars and people were milling all around. When the doors opened, the line started filing in calmly.

We went home and had pie!
Friday I needed to take a few photos for the paper, but basically we spent a quiet day together as a family. Saturday was a road trip to south Jersey to see my sister Karen, my nephews Adam and Alec and got caught up on what’s been happening. We had some Thanksgiving leftovers and pizza from our favorite childhood pizzeria. And the drive home was nice, because it was filled with the sight of holiday decorated houses. Sunday was another quiet day.

It has been a rough couple of weeks in Casa de Rovins – with the downed tree, the oven, a failed car inspection and the loss of yet another water heater – this one just days before the holiday. All of these issues have weighed heavilyt on my mind the last few weeks, along with the other things I perpetually worry about.

But as I spent time relaxing and recharging, the issues were put in perspective.

We’re all healthy, my kids are happy and well-adjusted, we have a roof over our heads, we have food in the fridge and pantry, we have transportation to and from work and we have jobs to go to.

All in all ... things are pretty darn good.