When I see my mom’s side of the family for Thanksgiving I always need a late night snack, but when I see my dad’s its a whole different story. My mom and I arrived in upstate NY mid-morning on Thanksgiving. I was excited because the traffic had not stopped me from missing too much of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I watch it every year. My tradition is to sit on the floor in front of the TV and eat cheerios while I watch the parade. I’ve done it almost every year since I can remember. This year I had the joys of sleeping in the car in the morning and then watching the end of the parade. Thanks to YouTube I’ll be able to watch the rest of it. Anyway, after hours of sitting and smelling delicious food, the first round of appetizers finally appeared. Cheeses from all over the world and blue cheese celery things (family specialty) held us over till round two. Round two consisted of gourmet Asian food and an artichoke dip that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. After that, I was full and didn’t think I could eat another bite…but I kept going.
About a half hour later, the feast was finally ready. We had all the traditional foods; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. Then we added in some new and interesting flavors like turducken (chicken stuffed in a duck, stuffed in a turkey), Cajun cornbread stuffing and another family classic, poppy seed bread. After three helpings, I couldn’t leave the table. Finally we all worked our way to the various couches and I took a wonderful nap…until I smelled the pies. Apple, pumpkin and pecan pies and sugar cookies had replaced the feast on the counter. There was absolutely no room left in my stomach but I went for dessert anyway. It was just as delicious as it is every year.
Then the whole family sat down to watch movies, just like we do every year. This year we watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Elf. It was a wonderful visit and it was so nice to see the people in my family that I haven’t seen in years. The kids have gotten so big and make me feel so old. It’s nice being away from family at school but it is weird to go back and see the little babies all grown up. Coming back to the Hill on Sunday was comforting and sad all at once. I liked knowing that it would only be about 3 weeks until I would be returning home for another holiday, but it also meant leaving my family which is not something I love doing. As much as I am dreading the end of the semester and the stress it will bring me, I know that it will be worth it because I have so many friends and family waiting for me at home when it is all over!
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