So here we are...about 250 miles into our 500 mile trip home from visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. Tim is driving, which in itself is surprising, and the kids are playing who knows what on their DS's in the backseat. My parents live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just about 500 miles directly north of our home in Springfield, Illinois. The population of their town is about 1,800, with people definitely being out numbered by the deer (opinion, not fact, although it might be a fact...).
My mom likes to have big Thanksgiving celebrations, although she complains about it from beginning to end. This year, it was the 4 of us, the 2 of them, my uncles Gary and Sam, my brother David, and James and John, two people my mom knew that had no place else to go for dinner. She had also invited at least 3 other people that normally do not have family to spend the holiday with, but this year 2 of them received invites from family members, and the other felt too ill to go out. Its nice of my mom to want to invite people who have no place else to go, and it makes them feel good to be invited. My mom is an excellent cook. Other than visiting with family, which in itself is important, that is one of the main reasons I like to drive the 9 hours to visit them, the food is sooo good! We have turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, asparagus, cranberries, crescent rolls, and 3 kinds of pie. This year, it took her two days to make the meal, and it took us about 30 minutes to eat it. Something she was sure to point out. Meal preparation also includes setting a fancy table and tons of hors d'oeuvres. I completely enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner, as always, and every year my picky children eat more and more.
It would be nice if my parents lived closer. They miss out on so many things being far away from the grandkids. But I think it makes the kids appreciate the time they spend together more. It is also nice for the kids to experience what it is like to live somewhere else. Somewhere where life is slower and simpler. Tim has a harder time with the slow and simple life. Sometimes his ADHD kicks in and he drives me crazy. But this trip he did really well. Maybe he needed a little slow down in his life right now. Whatever it was, it helped me enjoy our little vacation even more.
Another thing about visiting my mom is that it is nice to have someone else help take care of my children. Someone to feed them, entertain them, put them to bed when I fall asleep on the couch. Granted, the kids are getting big, and the need to "care" for them is getting to be less and less, but I still appreciate not having to worry about it. Gives my "mom-brain" a little extra vacation.
All in all, despite the very long drive, and the lack of snow this year, I think we had a really nice time. The kids got to be spoiled for a few days, and I guess so did I. Now that we are home, we'll spend tomorrow putting up the Christmas tree, and getting ready for the next holiday. My parents will come down here in two weeks to visit for Aili's birthday, and for the first two of our long line of Christmas celebrations. Let the parties begin!
