A Not-So-Traditional Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone. We ate turkey, sweet potato casserole, and dressing. We even got our tree and decorated. We checked the news about black Friday and were not surprised to see that CNN featured crazed shoppers at a Wal-Mart in…drumroll… Eden, North Carolina. Football scores are filling my newsfeed and basketball is in full swing too. But somehow it just doesn't seem like Thanksgiving really happened. I think its the weather. The past two days have been stunningly beautiful and close to 80 degrees. Or maybe its the lack of hustle and bustle. Usually this time of year I am a ball of anxiety as I try to figure out what parties to attend or decline or how to fit in trips to see both families or where to meet friends for dinner or what date suits all our best friends for a Christmas party. We have heard reports of the Flotilla in Wilmington, oyster roasts, basketball games, family get togethers, grandparents' visits and the like. Our weekend was relaxed comparatively. Thursday we spent the day on the coast in San Clemente with some of our best friends from NC. It was marvelous to see them but surreal at the same time. The day was gorgeous and the fellowship even better but it was abruptly shortened when little George spiked a fever out of nowhere. We left right as the food emerged from the oven. My dear friend packed us a huge plate of turkey, dressing, potatoes and casseroles as we rushed away in fear that we had already spread a virus to young and old. It was so sad to have to leave like that but we were glad we did because we all ended up sick that night and the next day. We were supposed to camp Thursday night near San Clemente. Thursday night little George had a fever induced hallucination (we think). It was good we were not in a campground. He screamed and was inconsolable for a good half hour. We prayed for him and also gave him more Motrin. He slept with us the rest of the night for the first time since he was a week old. Poor little precious thing. I have never felt so powerless to help him. He was absolutely terrified of whatever he saw. Friday morning we all needed to be cheered up so we decided to see Frozen in the theater. This was our first family movie and it was a success! First we stopped by Panera for some broccoli cheese soup I have had my mind set on for some time. Then we found the mall and fought the shoppers for a parking spot. Once we were inside we settled into our seats with popcorn and and a Coke. The movie was very well done and we all three enjoyed it. It was not too scary, the songs were great, the silly character Olaf is hilarious and lovable and the attempt by Disney to focus on familial love instead of prince/princess love was appreciated. All in all, Edwards, Edwards and little Edwards give it 5 stars. Saturday we got our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Let the decorations begin!! I got crafty, which is rare. I enjoyed my craftiness, which is even more rare! We strung popcorn and cranberries, made reindeer clothespins, cut Trader Joe's bags, glued eyeballs on furry puff balls to make silly animals, made a star out of toilet paper rolls, and bent pipe cleaners into all kinds of shapes. Our crafts also included a home made advent calendar and a card holder (so you can send your Christmas cards to us now!). Dean is bah humbug as usual but little George made up for his lack of Christmas cheer. I have never seen that child have more fun inside the house. He was so proud of his tree. His favorite thing to do was bend pip cleaners into a "candy cane" and hang them on the tree. We have about 25 random pipe cleaners all over the tree, but do you think I am going to move them an inch? Nosireebob, I would never do such a thing to that kid. He only fell out of the chair four times! Wait, did I actually include that?

Sunday we did not attend church because we are all still snotty and visibly sick. I am not sure we are still contagious but in an effort not to spread this any further, we gave ourselves one more day to recover. Instead we did a family devotion and then hiked to the Hollywood sign. We thought some fresh open air would be good for us all. It was a gorgeous 80 degree clear day and we could see all the way to the ocean. I have never seen such a view. So now here we sit as Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close. It boils down to this. We love it here and you can't beat the weather, but we miss our family and our friends back home. Dorothy said it best, "There's no place like home!".