Sneak, Sneak, Here Comes Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, the holiday, not the state of thankfulness, has been creeping up on me for quite awhile.

Creep, duck down out of sight, creep some more. Get closer, creep, lie in wait, Then, all of a sudden, POUNCE!

It has jumped out of hiding, coming at me like a cat on the attack while I was busy with my watercolor class. I am not ready for this. In fact, I am not even ready to get ready, I don't have any lists made.

How many people are coming? I am not sure--eighteen for sure, maybe twenty, maybe twenty five. Who knows? I have been having Thanksgiving dinner at my house for so many years that I figure the more the merrier. Come as you are, bring a friend and some food (a bag of chips or a piece of fruit will do). There will be lots of turkey (I cook two), taters, and the usual thanksgiving fare including pumpkin desserts. I know from experience the Lord supplies all that we need. Come one and all. If there isn't room at a table, have a seat on the couch. I have TV trays somewhere around here.

Dinner time will be filled with laughter and our traditional calls back and forth between the dining room and living room tables.

"We've got turkey, yes we do. We've got turkey. How about you?"
"We've got cider, yes we do. We've got cider. How about you?"
"We've got teenagers, yes we do. We've got teenagers. How about you?"
"We've got grandmas, yes we do. We've got grandmas. How about you?"  And so it goes.

Of course, after dinner there will be the usual dish washing, board games, card games, word games, snacking, and (new this year) the recorded Seahawk game.

As I said, I am not ready. All month I have been dropping miscellaneous stuff by the front door instead of  putting it away when I make my heavy-laden grand entry. There is a plastic tote full of over-sized Legos, stuffed animals, castles and knights that had been arranged in my car trunk for the Harvest Festival at church. My theme was 'Where's Waldo?' He was hidden between Big Bird and the castle. Anyway, it is sitting beside the piano. There is also Licorice's cat carrier sitting close by. Oh, there is the sack of clothes for the clothing bank that I removed from the back seat of the car when I picked up some grand-kids last week.

These aren't the only things to redistribute. A sketch pad is on the sofa, paid bills on the window seat next to my chair, watercolor stuff spread over the dining room table as well as the kitchen bar, and some dried leaves have found their way onto the carpet.

Now back to Thanksgiving. I need to shop--turkey, cider, cranberries, ingredients for pumpkin-spice cupcakes, butter, celery and bread for dressing, rolls and mayo for sandwiches, At least the potatoes, beans, fresh veggies and fruit, salads, and more desserts will be brought by family and friends.

I was wrong when I said I wasn't ready for Thanksgiving. Thursday won't be about whether or not a tote of toys might still be by the front door or there might be some leaves on the carpet. It won't be about whether or not there might be only two desserts or at least five. I am and will continue to be ready for family and friends to gather in my home.

Speaking of home, my granddaughter is flying in from college tomorrow. When I talked to her yesterday, she sounded like a little kid on Christmas Eve--so excited to be with all her family, extended family, and friends for a few days. She is especially excited to watch the Seahawks with a family of fans.

I am so blessed. As I have written this, my thoughts have jumped from all I have to do, to all I have to be thankful for, how blessed I am, and finally to singing songs of praise like Chris Tomlin's "Shout to the Lord, let the earth hear us sing, power and majesty, praise to the King..."

Have a very blessed day of Thanksgiving next week. Sing praises to our King.

Jeannette-- I'm off to shop. "Here turkey, turkey."