Reality: Not Bfth's Thanksgiving Fantasy

 Last week, I wrote what I wanted Thanksgiving to be.  (If you missed it and want a laugh:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/unrealistic-expectations-or.html).  I KNEW it was not going to be what I "wanted" (or perhaps I should say what I THOUGHT I wanted), but for those who are curious...here's what REALLY happened.

• Monday Night:  When I got home I DID make the vegan pumpkin spice break with maple cream cheese filling.  It WAS messy.  My son confirmed with me that evening that he COULD catch a ride with a friend to the shore, although they would be leaving later.  That meant my husband I could head to the shore first thing on Tuesday.
• Tuesday:  I got up at before my alarm went off.  Did a few quick things and got my husband up.  We quickly packed up the car (and there was a LOT in the car) and headed to the shore around 5 in the morning.  There IS traffic on Tuesday mornings, although it is mostly headed north.  We got to ShopRite  a little after 6.  (On the website it says the store opens at 7; it's a lie.  They open at 6).  I went to the butcher, found someone who worked there and got a small (2 rib) prime rib.  While I was waiting, my husband did the rest of the last minute shopping which included a small charcuterie spread, maple butter (its seasonal and this is the only ShopRite that still had it), and a few other items. We were back on the road before 7.  As a matter of fact, we arrived the house with seconds to spare before CBS Mornings started.  ("Your World In 90 Seconds" is essential for me and one of the reasons why I HATE commuting to Newark on a regular basis.  I don't get my "live" dose of the show and I really need that.  I'm not an UBER fan, but I am a pretty big one.)   I turn up the heat and set up my work station, hubby puts away the groceries and makes the pumpkin spice coffee.  My work day wasn't too bad, but the weather wasn't.  There was a wet chill in the air, and the wind was blowing.  (I did do my walk up to the beach and it was brutal; yet there were dedicated surfers out there.)  My son and his friend didn't leave the college campus until after 4:30, so it took them nearly 2 hours to get to us.  Since I didn't know what time they'd be arriving, I had planned for dinner.  But we invited his friend to stay and we ordered 2 pizzas from Wawa, as they have always been quick and good.  Or they were.  On Tuesday night the pizza took longer than expected and was NOT good at all.

• A soggy, cheesy mess.  Even with two young men in the house, I ended up throwing half of it away.  Not how I wanted the evening to go.  After dinner, the friend headed out (he had another half hour ride south) and my husband and I were ready to crash.  But before we do, hubby helps my son connect his computer to the printer at the shore.  He's not doing school work, but printing out a shirt pattern.  Yes, he's making his own shirt (hand sewn).
  
  
• Wednesday:  After a lousy night's sleep (lots of wind and rain), got up to find the end of the street flooded (good thing I wasn't planning on going anywhere) and the water in the lagoon over the dock.  

   Good thing I wasn't going anywhere that morning.  (It was high tide in the bay at this point.)  There was coffee, CBS Mornings and work for me.  The office actually was closing at two (although I didn't stop working for another hour or so after.)  By that time the water and abated and I was able to walk up to the beach.  For dinner, I had planned to get Gobbler from Wawa for the guys, BUT they were not available.  (How could that be?)  Good thing I had a Gardein Vegan Turk'y Roast in the freezer.  Dinner was a little later than expected, but...we had a very Thanksgiving like meal the night before the holiday!  We did follow my "plan" and made the cranberry Jell-O mold (for Thanksgiving) and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together.  (Peppermint Pattie is a total selfish jerk in this one isn't she?)
• Thanksgiving Day:  Got up and enjoyed the pumpkin spice coffee before heading out for a quick walk as it was sunny and cool.  The town was having a "turkey trot" (I'm still not 100% sure what that entails), and I ended up walking through parts of it. It was actually quite nice, wishing people a Happy Thanksgiving and encouraging those who were running. When I returned home, I had more coffee, enhanced with crescent rolls with the maple butter.  (I made them once my son got up and I was lucky to get one because he scarfed them down pretty quickly.)  We watched the parade and grazed on the charcuterie before I finally started the prime rib.  The recipe I found had you bringing it to room temperature before putting it in the oven at 500 degrees for 15 minutes before lowering the temperature to 325.  Well even before the 15 minutes were up, the smoke detector was going off!  Nothing was on fire; nothing was even burned, but the darned thing would not shut up.  (Until my husband took the batteries out.)    We ate around 4:30.  The prime rib  was not as well cooked as my son or I would have liked, so he didn't eat much it.  Not an epic fail, but certainly not what I had hoped for with the price of meat being so high!  I had used real china for our meal (which I thought came from my maternal grandmother, but now I'm not so sure...more research is necessary on Rosenthal's Ivory Batavia Royal china), so my husband did the dishes and my son and I went for a short walk...

  

  When we got home, my son went back to working on his shirt and my husband and I played scrabble.  Actually played isn't quite the right word; I played and he DEMOLISHED me.  Happy Thanksgiving!
• Friday almost went exactly as I described in my blog post from last week.  We had wonderful food and fun with my in laws. Being with them FELT like a holiday.  (Thanksgiving day itself was nice, but it didn't "feel" like anything, if that makes any sense.) We ate, talked and laughed...exactly what I needed.  We did not drop my son off at his girlfriend; he came home to drop off his stuff and then he drove back to see her and attend the town's holiday parade.
• Saturday:  A crazy day to volunteer at the thrift shop with TONS of people coming in!  Small business Saturday is a thing!  (We actually stayed open 30 minutes longer than usual due to the number of people.)  Later in the afternoon, my aunt (my father's sister) stopped by for tea and pumpkin spice cake.  (I had saved a piece just for her.)  She is my connection to my dad and we really need to see each other more often.  (She lives about half an hour away.)  In the evening we went up the block to our wonderful neighbor's Friendsgiving celebration.  (I am so grateful to be a part of this year after year, and this year more than ever)  We ate, drank (do I confess that I did tequila shots?) and laughed with neighbors who are more than just that, out by the fire pit.  It was a perfect night.
• Sunday:  Went to church, drove my son back to school (getting stuck in some, but not too much traffic) and managed (after much clearing out) to get his car into the garage.  (Yes, we use our garage for a car...although some of our "stuff" prevented it.  Too bad bulky item pick up isn't until next week.) 

And that's how the holiday went for us.  It was different.  It had its high points.  And it ends on a low point; back to work today.  Thankfully remotely because I have come down with a cold and am feeling miserable on this cold Monday morning.  With all the stress that comes with the holiday, it's no surprise that my immune system broke down.  I'll keep the tissue handy and will NOT spread the "joy" to my co-workers. (That's something THEY should be thankful for.)