I hope everyone had a good holiday this year. I know a few of you were actually worried my holiday would be “very interesting” but rest assured all went well.
My brother’s family joined my family at my Mother’s for her usual tradition. Her friend Dr. Laura and Laura’s son also joined us. He’ll only attend Thanksgiving with his mother if she’s going to my mother’s house… well, because we ALL love the food! Which, as usual, was exceptionally delicious. And I even loved my sister-in-laws yam dish which last year I didn’t.
But this year so many things in my life are different and apparently the taste of my sister-in-laws yams were one of them!
The spouse had told my mother of my adventures on the dating site and after a short “I disapprove and request you NOT do the following..” lecture, less as my mother and more as my boss to her employee running her business, we’ve dropped the subject. But she told my sister and apparently my brother.
I had told my sister and sister-in-law that we’d decided to have an open marriage but hadn’t told them “how” I was doing that. So at first my sister sent me a long email with her “opinions” on commitment and marriage… all coming from her “love” for me. Rest assured it was done lovingly but I’m just a completely different creature than she, always have been. And she knows it so she says her peace and I say mine and we hug (as much as you can in an email!) each other because we’re sisters and love each other but step back and look at the other with bemusement.
My sister was fine with that but her spouse had to weigh in after hearing of my “choice of adventuring” and expressed his opinion that it might drive my spouse to violent action. So I got another concerned phone call on THAT! Which just says she really doesn’t know the man I married, so I reassured her, told him and wondered JUST what I’d get from my brother at Thanksgiving!
Luckily it was a very easy going meal. My sister-in-law had lost about the same amount of weight as I and she looked great so we mostly talked about that! And my mother (probably purposefully) DIDN’T have us go around the table and talk about what we were thankful for! I would’ve had to make something bland up!
So despite the lip hickey bruise, left by an over-zealous lunch date which I was sporting and hopefully no one noticed (I had no idea lips could do that!) It was a wonderfully relaxing meal. I’m so happy in my new life that nothing, just nothing, stresses me the way it used to.
I laughed in amusement when my mother called me telling me she couldn’t find two items she could have sworn she bought and if I didn’t move them to some mysterious place would I mind going to Vons and picking up more. “Sure,” I told her but then had a thought… “Have you checked your car?” Sure enough there they were in a string bag looking like all the other string bags of stuff in her car… (the woman is completely ready for 2012!) … 1 can of jelled cranberry, 2 cans of Manderine oranges and a now bloated, ready to explode pint of half n half!
Ahh, Thanksgiving in L.A….