Thanksgiving 2008

So my Thanksgiving was surprisingly pleasant. The boys left early for their Mom's house and Little spent the night at my Mom's house with my parents, my Grandmother, my brother, and my Aunt. So with the kids all gone, I got to sleep in, spend a lazy morning watching the parade, drinking coffee, and going for a walk with G and the dogs. The boys met us at 2 and we headed East.

Little was so happy to see us and showed everyone the Christmas Village she got to set up with her Bubbi (that is what she calls my mother). Little showed off the lipstick Mimi (my Grandmother - and yes, I made up that name for her) shared with her, she just loves make-up. And I opened up the first bottle of wine. I am not sure if it was the wine (of course I am in charge of selecting the wine, brought plenty, and none of it was boxed as was suggested when I asked for preferences), or if something was genuinely different, but the conversation was nice, dinner was neither late nor dry and cold, and my brother was on his best behavior and quiet.

So I have to wonder if my family has gotten the less than subtle message I have sent by limiting my exposure to them. It has been months since they have seen any of us, including my Little, and so there was conversation and appreciation. My brother got a little pissed that I would not help out in the kitchen, but Mom and I have a strict rule about entering our kitchens. In fact, I do not allow her in mine as I do things differently than she does and so it is the best way to keep some peace between us. She does Thanksgiving and I do Christmas. It is sad that we have to work so hard to keep the peace between us, but that is how it is. We never had a strong foundation and so there is nothing stable from which to build on. We do the best we can, but not everyone understands that we have to do our relationship in a certain way.

My grandmother was amazingly charming and festive. The last time we saw her, she was the Southern belle version of nasty to G and I. My fear was she would hate the color of my hair, how long it is, my lack of make-up, that I quit my corporate job for one in the service industry, the way my teenage boys dress, talk, etc, the way I raise my daughter, or my weight - which is admittedly out of control right now. She only hit one of these topics by telling me all about her success with Jenny Craig and let me tell you, my Grandmother weighs 127 pounds soaking wet - I will give you three guesses as to where in the world I got my warped relationship with food and a normal sense of body health - and the the first two guesses don't count!