11/27/01- Giblets

I just like saying the word. Giblets.

We were supposed to go to Kennewick over the weekend, before that we were going to go to Sequim for the weekend, and prior to that we were going to go to Kennewick for the weekend. Yup, that's right, that's no typo. We had, at seperate times at least three sets of Thanksgiving plans.

The best laid plans of mice and Ken.
I was excited about heading out of town, and for the first time in a decade, not breaking bread with my in-laws on the third Thursday after the first Monday in November.

Wasn't it J.F.K. who said, "...we do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are difficult."? Well, this was no Lunar landing, but the preparations seemed as intense. Even my drive home from work on Thanksgiving eve took twice as long as usual. Laundry, shopping, packing ,compounded with all the usual tasks, had me wondering if it was all going to be worth the effort. I already gave up the notion of driving there in the MG while the others rode in the Taurus. The potential for a fight between Monica and Diane; my brother's wife would be reason enough to stay home... so would the chance of spending time in an E.R. in Kennewick, WA. Despite all that could go wrong, the last of the trip preparations were nearing completion at 1:30am.

Sometime around 2:45 am, Calvin stumbled out of his bedroom.
"My throat hurts." he croaked, then barked like a seal.
I felt his forehead. He was red-hot. (He would be.)
"I think we better stay home this weekend." I sighed.
That woke Calvin up fully.

It hadn't occured to him that his ailment might be a "trip-killer". He was the one person in the family that was pumped and optimistic about this trip. He packed his toys 2 days ago and made a re-investment in Pokemon cards (his cousins' forte'), and borrowed the book "1,000 Japanese Words" from the Sifton Elementary Library. He had alot invested in this trip. Even without the thermometer, the decision was made, and Calvin began wailing and begging. Thirty minutes later he passed through the guilt stage, stopped pulling his hair, and fell asleep (thanks to NiteTime Pediacare) on the floor.

I informed my mother at 8:am that we were staying in Vancouver. Before the phone call was over, she had reminded me three times that she had cooked enough food to feed the Navy's Third Fleet, and that it was all going to go to waste. Thanks for the guilt Mom.

The turkey we had at my mother in-law's house was golden, juicy and absolutely indistinguishable from it's 10 predecessors. Maybe next year will be my year.

"...giblets,giblets,giblets."

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