Flashing Back to Turkey Day







Linda at Mocha with Linda provides us with flashbacks on Fridays so we can relive our youth and see how it affected our adult life.  Here are this week's prompts:

What was Thanksgiving like when you were growing up? What days did you usually have off from school? Do you remember any Thanksgiving activities at school, such as a play or a meal? During the Thanksgiving weekend, did you travel to spend it with relatives or did you stay home? Or did relatives travel to you? What was your family's day typically like? Did you watch the Macy's Parade or something else on TV? Have you ever attended a Thanksgiving parade? Was football a big part of the day? And of course, we have to hear what your family ate! Were there any traditional foods that were part of your family's meal? Which of your growing-up traditions do you do with your family today? And if you are married, how did it go merging your two traditions/expectations?
We only had Thursday & Friday off for Thanksgiving when I was growing up.  Since both of my parents are from Tx., we wouldn't go anywhere for dinner. I don't remember anything special going on at school, except a not-so-good lunch of what they called a Thanksgiving lunch, but I always took my lunch to school, so it didn't matter to me.   I remember waking up on Thanksgiving morning, smelling the turkey roasting in the oven already. We'd get up and anxiously await the Macy's Parade to start on tv.  Oh, it was the best thing EVER.  Just having one tv when I was little, it was "watch what daddy wants to watch or watch nothing at all", so there was definitely football on at the house.  The Tx. A&M and Univ. of Tx. was always a must that weekend.  Gig 'em, Aggies!    Mom actually put down a tablecloth, but I don't remember if we ate off of "real plates" or paper plates.  Of course we would have turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, some kind of jello/fruit salad, and rolls.  I'm sure cranberry sauce was in there somewhere, but, ewwww.  Something about seeing it come out of that can just doesn't do for me.  
After I got married, our tradition changed a bit.  Since there are so many of us, we switch holidays with the family and with in-laws.  This year is our turn to be at home for Thanksgiving, and with in-laws for Christmas, although it doesn't really turn out that way.  Mom  is a big believer in making your own traditions, which is what she had to do after she & daddy got married and moved to Tn.   With the boys playing high school football, and the high school having a game on Thanksgiving weekend for the past 6 years (this year makes it 7, but we're here even though YS is in the band), we haven't been able to go anywhere on the "off-year" Thanksgiving.  And, this  year, a few of my siblings just don't seem to realize that it's our turn to be home, and 1 has decided to go to her step-daughter's house on the other side of the state (even though she said they weren't going back...but that's a whole different story).  And, my youngest brother isn't coming in because the stupid airlines have jacked up their prices, AND my oldest sister isn't coming in because she wants to save her vacation days until her 2 boys come in for Christmas.  Then we have one of my sisters who is doing something with her sons, another sister who is going to be entertaining her elderly MIL while her hubby & sons are hunting, and a brother who is going to his son's house for dinner.  So, we will have a meager 21 people at my house for Thanksgiving Dinner, 22 if you want to count my niece's new baby.  So there you have it.  I don't know if that's what Linda had in mind, but, yeah, I'm a little ticked that people aren't following the rules this year, and, yeah, I'm a little ticked that we aren't going to DC to see my BIL & SIL because it's our year to be home and I spoke up and said we could have dinner at our house...again.  And, yeah, I'm also a little ticked because everybody is having to bring a couple to a few things this year instead of just one.  But it's going to be okay, right?
 So, I have 6 days to get the house in order and make a couple of pies, and make sure we have enough tables and chairs.  That's along with having annual reviews and initial placements at work.  I have no idea why I do this to myself.

14 comments:

  1. Oh ... that put's mine in perspective. We are always "told" what to do, so we were told that it would be at our house this year and will include niece's boyfriend, which is fine except we were already very "friendly/comfy" around our table, and niece is a drama queen so we can't break up the table into smaller tables.

    AND, they're all mad at us because we have announced we're going away for Christmas to Breckenridge (thereby avoiding the ordeal at THEIR house). In 17 years, we've only been gone once for Christmas, and they were so ugly about it that it took me 16 years to get brave enough again to do what is good for my OWN family!

    Sigh. I'm praying for God to show me how He sees them, because my glasses just don't seem to improve the view.

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  2. We have done the every other until we moved overseas. Last year we had hubs family here for Thanksgiving and mine for Christmas. I loved the full house but its not full like yours : )

    This year its just the four of us on the day and I have to say I'm looking forward to that too. Friday my brother and sister in law will be here to have the left over meal with us.

    I will still cook all 800 dishes I normally cook. If I left one out someone would miss it.

    Families and expectations. They are hard. We say it has been one of the hardest pieces to the repatriation puzzle. When you live an ocean away many family dramas are taken out of the equation. When you come back they smack you in the face.

    Happy Thanksgiving...you'll still have a crowd and a nice day I'm sure!

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  3. Nothing like a holiday to bring out the family dynamics and drama! And a mealy 21? That's how many are at my MIL's when all of us plus a couple of extras are there1

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  4. Hope it all turns out well for you!

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  5. Wow, a measley 21??? That's still a lot to have to entertain. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving :)

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  6. 21 people!? I would die. Well, maybe I wouldn't die but I'd be stressed to the max.
    Thanksgiving for us changes pretty much every year. This year will be interesting for sure between my Thanksgiving Day race and hubby being on the football field at some point (not sure if it will be that day or what), but at least for us mil decided to have Thanksgiving ON the actual day instead of 3 days later. :)

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  7. That's still a pretty big crowd. I am so use to just the six of use each year, it use to be eight before my aunt & uncle passed away.
    They were the only relatives here in California. It's not easy when everyone lives across the country these days. I don't really have many memories from my childhood Thanksgivings. Hope you have a wonderful day and the baby will be the best part!

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  8. Oh, the Thanksgiving Day parade on T.V. I LOVED that!!!

    Living in Illinois, I always, secretly, wished to be able to stay home at the holidays. Now that we are by ourselves in TX, I sooo miss being with relatives. Funny how things always work out.

    My BIL is a mechanic for Life Flights. He is coming down for almost one month for special training in Dallas. He'll stay with us on the weekends since his training is three weeks long. I was hoping it would have been over Thanksgiving.

    Oh well. We will take what we can get.

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  9. I meant to add that David is smoking our turkey this year. Yum!! and what a break for me!!

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  10. I love Thanksgiving and the Aggie game. We also watch the Razorback game. R loves the Aggie fight song and dances to it, it is on my phone. Yep, raising a future Aggie :)

    Kmama is no longer doing TYVM due to participation. I will be bringing it back in Jan after the holidays are over. Hope to see you link up then!!

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  11. I remember the highlight of Thanksgiving was watching the Macy Parade when I was growing up. It was always so neat to see the big balloons and the marching bands (and look at you now, so involved with marching bands :)

    21! That seems like a wonderful number for dinner!! I know it wasn't what you quite had in mind, but I think its great that those many will be around your table come Thanksgiving Day!! Who knows, it might be on the best yet!!

    betty

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  12. I remember getting the NICE plates for Thanksgiving. And that holiday, and Christmas, we were allowed to have a little wine (even when we were young). Just a little mind you -- what would be a couple of gulps for an adult.

    Our niece had her baby?! (See how connected I am these days...)

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  13. Oh, and I wouldn't stress about it. Anyone bitches, tell them they just volunteered to have it at their house next year, and they can just deal with whatever issue they're having. You'll be together and that's the important thing.

    I'm sorry we won't be down. :(

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  14. Ok, in my defense, L is an only child so we *are* my MIL's family. Do you know how guilty I would be if we left MIL at the retirementt center? I just couldn't do that. And...C wants to go back to school on Friday pm because this is his last chance to tailgate at Saturday's football game.

    PS You forgot to tell everyone about the time you got to participate in the Macy's Parade!

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