Thursday, November 24, 2011

November 24 – “Thanksgiving Day”

 
 
Once again it is Thanksgiving Day.  I was up at 6 as usual.  I was particularly curious to see the newspapers, since they have been warning us all week that today's would be the "biggest paper of the year."  I wanted to see if that would all be advertisements for Black Friday or if there was really more news.  Black Friday wins.  By a landslide.  The Galveston paper – the actual news part was about the same as a usual Thursday paper.  They introduced their big changes in the format and print style today.  No longer are they the Galveston County Daily Dews (that was the big change in 1993).  Now it's just the Daily News.  Apparently they finally heard what people called it anyway.  There were a lot of ads, though.  The Houston paper was very interesting.  I couldn't find the news section at all.  Really.  The ad section was bigger than the entire Galveston paper.  I wwent through it page by page.  No news at all.  None.  Wither nothing at all happened in Houston yesterday, or they didn't even bother to throw that section.  OK.  Maybe it is under the car and I couldn't see it.  I'll go check again when the sun comes out.  But as of now, nothing but ads. 
 
Chris told Mom last night that she had to get up early this morning to watch the parade.  It took Mom a few minutes to register what she was talking about.  I think she thought that meant we were going to a parade.  We assured her that we were staying home and watching it on TV.  Her stress level definitely dropped.  The Thanksgiving Day parade has always been one of her favorite things.  I remember how excited she was when my brother bought her a color TV so she could watch the parade in color.  I think now she would rather watch the Dallas Cowboys play football.  We'll see.
 
For us Thanksgiving means frying turkeys.  We discovered fried turkeys several years ago when our friend Alex shared his mother's recipe with us.  One bite and Chris said she would never bake another turkey.  Juicy on the inside and kind of crisp on the outside.  That and the fact that she would have considerably less work to do.  This year we ended up frying nine turkeys.  With all the friends and family that come over during the holidays, we usually eat two of them.  Chris freezes a few for use throughout the year.  Sometimes we get special requests from folks to do one for them.  This year's special was for one of the fire fighter buddies of Nathan.  We invited him to join us.  Oh, and another fun thing we started a few years ago.  When we buy the turkeys, the checkers at WalMart inevitably makes a comment about why there are so many.  We tell them about frying and they lament about having to work on the big day.  By the time we pay the bill I have promised to bring them a sample.  So later on this morning I get to make a quick trip to WalMart to make some deliveries there. 
 
Then it's back to the house to wait for the onslaught.  Kel's family should be here around noon.  Some folks from church are joining us.  Josh and Christi and their boys are due in this evening after spending time with her family.  Nathan and April and Cailyn will get here later, too.  Things are about to get crazy around the Vaughan house again.  Er … still?
 
Isaiah 9:1-2 says, "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan —The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
 
Father, thank you for the craziness of relationships all exploding together in a rousing display of presence and thanksgiving.  Let it happen more than once a year.  Amen.

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