From the other side of the list

Here I am on the other side of my list, on the other side of the first ever Thanksgiving at my own house, in my own city. I had to prepare a second guest room in this big, old house for the family coming...a White* Thanksgiving. I prepared some food, tried my hand at Grandma's matchless dressing. But before I tell you how it all went, picture the scene in my living room now after company has gone and things on the list were either completed or abandoned...

The munchkins are at playschool. Roxy, our four-legged first-born, is asleep on the couch. It's quiet except for Frank and the Rat Pack singing "Mistletoe and Holly".  I, in my red sweatshirt (chuckle if you must), am sitting in my den with a cup of pecan coffee across from a cute Christmas tree with the kind of lights that twinkle, complete with gifts wrapped in candy cane striped paper underneath. All the decorations are in place--some new ones, some old ones. Aaaahhhhh....


In short, this was the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. I never suspected it would be, since we weren't traveling to see all the people we normally see. We were staying home, or eight hours from home, depending on how you look at it. As it turned out, quality time with a small number of special people eclipsed the quantity of miles usually traveled and people usually seen. I am the one who moved away; therefore, I am the one who travels for holidays. Also, I'm not really used to quiet holidays. My extended family is not small and not reserved.  But here on the other side of a small holiday gathering spent at my home, I can say with complete confidence that it was full. Fuller than ever. I am full, satisfied, pleased with the time spent with my dear brother Bryan, and his lovely wife Katie, my mother and father, my husband and children, my house. The house is warmer. The home is happier. I am thankful.

I am teetering on mawkish storytelling, aren't I? Are you okay with a little mush this time of year? I'll try to keep it down. Maybe it's Frankie and Dean's fault for sounding so sentimental, or just the traditional Christmas anthems already ringing in my head as we are preparing for the best time of year--joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with angelic hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem.

Well, because no post of mine about a semi-major event would be complete without a list, here are my Top 10 Moments from Thanksgiving 2010. Yo.

1. My husband taking a half day last Tuesday to start our Thanksgiving holiday time early. There's something special about him coming through the door when there's still hours of daylight left. And in Nashville, that's saying something since it's dark by 4:45 p.m.
2. Being in the same room as my brother and sister-in-law. Talkin' about stuff. Like how hardcore she is about her business and how hardcore he is about the simple things in life, like peperoni pizza even when at a fancy pizza joint and plain pound cake even when it's a holiday of fancy desserts.
3. Making toddler-friendly Christmas tree ornaments with my mom and kids. For future reference, Peyton loves the huge gemstones that most resemble a 20-carat diamond. Harper, well, let's just say she's the hands-on [everything] type.
4. All eight of us going to see the new movie, Tangled, on opening day. We were all shocked to discover that Mom's playful mind-control tricks actually did help Harper sit through the entire movie and even get down and dance at the ending song.
5. The family enjoying our Thanksgiving meal. Besides the fantastical pound cake my mom made, and deep-fried turkey my uncle made and sent up with my parents, the apple-cranberry casserole might have been the crowd favorite.
6. Taking Bryan and Katie to our favorite local pizza place, and then accidentally down some fairly shady alleys trying to find the big houses. 
7. Shopping with mom on Black Friday. Major lesson learned: all the desperate parents will be at Toys R Us waiting in the rain in a line wrapped completely around the outside of the store. Don't go there or anywhere near it.
8. Taking Mom and the kids to a paint-your-own-pottery place to make Christmas gifts. 
9. Decorating the tree and the house with Mom and Dad here to see Peyton become completely enchanted with everything.
10. Seeing how giddy my husband was to watch football on his early Christmas present, and having him thank me over and over...and over. :)

*My family with my family, the Whites*

Thanks everyone for reading. I hope your holiday was great or, if not, will be better next year. And to that rowdy bunch in South Carolina we didn't get to see this time, we're looking forward to getting a headache with you all at Christmas!