11/26/07

The Best Time of the Year:




The last few days have, collectively, made up one of the happiest Thanksgivings in memory.


Wednesday after work, we began rearranging furniture. Nix the dining room that wasn't a functional use of space, turning it into a "theater" - or, more commonly, the room with the TV. The former living room became the "library" - the room with the bookcases, big comfy chairs to curl up in, the art box, the tree. It's a great room for hanging out with friends, when you want to sit around and talk. It was a lot more work than I think either of us had planned on (the feet on the couch had to be removed to get it through the doorway from the library to the theater), but it was completely worth it.


Thursday morning came a little too early for my liking, and I was slow at getting the day started. (I suppose i probably shouldn't have drank that whole 1.5 L bottle of Jew wine the night before.) I finally managed a shower and dressing, and we were off to a day of feast and family. Jimi's Uncle Joe is a sweet old man, with a shock of white hair and a vocabulary that was at least partially formed by his Navy days. His daughter, Laura Jo, is one of Jimi's dearest relatives, and with her warm, welcoming personality, I can see why. We bonded over our mutual dislike of peas. :) Laura Jo's son is just a few years younger than I, and had a great story about recently being kicked out of Canada (not really - he just isn't allowed into the country until 2016). He seemed genuinely interested in my descriptions of the different people I'd encountered in the different cities I'd lived; people-watching is a passion of his. We visited with them for a few hours after dinner, and then it was off to my family gathering. This year it was the same delicious food, followed by our own version of The Newlywed Game, Wii bowling, and plenty of adult beverages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Going through my old blog-post drafts, I found this one.  3 years old, from the first Thanksgiving I spent with Jimi's family.  (We were way too new in '06 to spend the Thanksgiving holiday together.)  

I'm glad I found this.  It makes me smile to remember.

And I wrote differently back then, didn't I?  It sounds like a different voice.