Today is our last full day of vacation. Tomorrow we hit the road. Rather than splitting the drive in half, I'm going to drive the lion's share tomorrow and then enjoy (and I use the term loosely) a shorter drive on Sunday. P leaves for work at 4:30 on Sunday so I'm trying to get home by then - the kid misses her papa.
We spent Thanksgiving at my sister's house. With the exception of my brother-in-law (who was out on call), the rest of us are vegetarian. So, there was no turkey on the table, but we managed to stuff ourselves nonetheless. I brought two desserts I'd made - brownies and apple cake. And here you thought pumpkin pie was mandatory! My sister did a great job and dinner was delicious. My youngest nephew wore some of his mashed potatoes on his forehead to show his appreciation. Then Dan (the family's Bluetick Coonhound) did a drive-by whipped cream licking at the kids' table, which caused my other nephew to start shrieking and turning red. I couldn't understand anything he was saying except "AAAAAAAAAAAH! DAN! AAAAAAAAH!" Then the younger nephew climbed into my sister's lap and started eating from her plate, with the highlight being the part where he rubbed some of his mashed potatoes in her hair. At some point, a largish glob of stuffing landed on the floor and someone stepped in it. The other dog, Jules, was on the case and ate it shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, my daughter announced that the dinner roll was the only item on her plate that she was willing to ingest. Thanksgiving dinner may not have been a glamorous affair, but I don't think we'd have it any other way.
My baby sister and I had made plans to go Black Friday shopping, but my brother-in-law was on call again so she couldn't go. The kid and I spent the night and I got up at 4 a.m. to go shopping by myself (while my sister watched the kids). I know a lot of people think it's sheer lunacy, but I actually enjoy the adventure of it all. I don't think I would bother doing it in a big metropolitan area, but people in Oklahoma are legitimately friendly (even at dawn). There is a sort of "we're all in this together" vibe that seems to prevail. I hit Kohl's first and got some good bargains. Then Target, then the Disney Store. The Disney Store had 20% off until 10 a.m. I picked up the Rapunzel doll for the kid and got some stuff for my nephews. The Disney Store was very busy, but the employees (I mean "cast members") had helpfully laid out red tape on the floor to lead the customers (I mean "guests") to the check-out area. I dutifully followed the tape. Someone was shouting something about having your ID available when you got to the register. I sent a text to my middle sister while I was in line. "You are crazy," she wrote. "Did you bring a flask?" Finally, a cast member checked me out. I grabbed my bag and began to weave my way out of the store. "Have a magical day!" she called after me.
Indeed.