Yet another “my favorite holiday” has come and gone,
with tachyonic speed. I’m sad, but, paradoxically, not sad.
Sad because I truly relish Thanksgiving, for a variety
of reasons. We all head out of town to visit my parents in the Pennsylvanian
woodland for 96 hours. I get plenty of relaxation, read a lot, buy a couple of
books, eat like a king, do fun things with the little ones, watch some good
movies, and even get some work done.
Let’s break that down, shall we, so you can see what I
mean.
… plenty of
relaxation … With the exception of one night (due to Thanksgiving indigestion,
no doubt), I caught up on my sleep deficit. Probably averaged 8 hours a night,
as opposed to 6. Enjoyed some vivid, awesome dreams, too. I was exiled to the
fold-out living room couch due to allegedly snoring, but the bed, blankets, and
pillows were extremely comfy.
… read a lot
… Put away just shy of 150 pages of Dickens’s Copperfield, almost to the half-way point of the 920-page magnum
opus. Read a couple chapters more about World War I and some Tolkien stuff,
too.
… buy a couple
of books … Not truly inspired, but I did pick up a hardcover copy of Arthur
C. Clarke’s Rama Revealed. Never read
that one, but the other Rama books intrigued me deeply in the 90s. My review of
Rama is here, incidentally. The other
book I bought was a potentially-schlocky The
List of Seven, an occult murder mystery that blends fictional with
historical figures in London around the time of the Jack the Ripper slayings.
… eat like a
king … Oh, man did I ever. Thursday Thanksgiving is a given, but – chicken
pot pies, homemade cookies, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken wings, Yuengling
beer, turkey stew, shrimp appetizers, eggs and cheese and bacon and taylor ham
and …
… do fun things
with the little ones … Two hours in the indoor pool at the rec center with
Patch; shooting a couple games of Horse with Little One; teaching her how to play
Chess; a game of Scrabble on the living room floor with both of them; hurling a
gigantic inflatable medicine ball thingie to each other in the driveway.
… watch some
good movies … Christmas Vacation on
Thanksgiving night, a tradition; Emmet
Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, another newer tradition; Blades of Glory, mainly to show Little One the zany antics of Will
Ferrell and the “Iron Lotus.”
… even got some
work done … Did some studying and got some pre-tax-season work done in my
company’s intranet portal in the early morning hours, as well as doing a pair
of solo walks for four miles. Plus helped Little One study for her confirmation
class.
We also did the Santa breakfast thing (maybe for the
last time if you know what I mean), taking photos of the little ones in the
Christmas dresses in front of the club’s giant fireplace. And the wife shaved
my neck beard, leaving my “no-shave November” scruff in place on the face.
Only thing I didn’t get to do, that I wanted, was
attend Latin Mass in town a half-hour away.
Oh, and this was an NFL-free weekend. The parents did
watch some college ball Saturday, but we all kept our boycott intact. Normally
we’d have the games on Thanksgiving Day in the background, and people would
shuffle in and out of the living room to watch. And Sunday afternoon would be
long and lazy watching the early and late afternoon games. Not this year.
Why am I sad? Well, now it’s officially Spendmas (see
here). The pressure is on to spend, spend, spend for the perfect gifts for the way-too-many
people in my ever-expanding group of acquaintances. Along with that is the push
to get all the preparatory tax stuff done (though in fairness this, my second,
year I am in a much better place than last year). Unpleasant end-of-year tasks
at the main job, plus packing everything 2017 away. It’s busy to no end –
Christmas concerts, basketball practices kick in full force, a second vacation
to Hilton Head in three weeks. I’m already tired.
Why am I not so sad? Well, I got a lot of good reads
on the near horizon. Plus our house is being sided! Long an eyesore from
flaking paint, we bit the bullet and are having the vinyl siding put up. The
house will look nice and will actually be warmer, saving me $ on energy bills
this winter. We’re also getting a new front door, replacing the old drafty one
and the rickety glass outer door. The resale value will go up and I’ll actually
be able to look at my abode with pride.
Thanksgiving! I am thankful for all the above! Looking
forward to next year!
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