YMCA – "MOM!"

I love celebrating Thanksgiving. The gratitude and appreciation expressed for one another makes me beam. Everyone lets down whatever guard they may have erected and opens their arms to hugs. I must admit I was a bit concerned this year that my idyllic view of Thanksgiving may be shot to hell due to the recent election of Trump. But alas, it was not. All were polite. It was definitely more quiet than usual for a Heile get together … but Jon appreciated that peace.

Maria slaved over the favors for the family with me. We thought about what would be best for days before the event and finally landed on mason jars filled with a holiday mix. We drove to Giant Eagle to try to find mason jars. I told Maria that I did not want to spend a bunch of money on the jars. She was determined to find a deal. We walked down an aisle and Ri exclaimed “here are 12 for $8.99!” I shook my head with approval and we grabbed two cases. As we turned towards the checkout, a woman approached us. She held two coupons for mason jars, and asked if we wanted them. I was taken aback, as was Maria. What are the chances that somebody with a coupon for mason jars would be walking by us right when we are heading to the checkout? Life is crazy strange and full of surprises. And heck, we saved six dollars because of that woman; Ri and I were charged! A reminder to pay forward.

We arrived home to find Mario listening to music on the computer. We made him turn it off and help us decorate the mason jars, much to his dismay. But once he got started, he realized it wasn’t horrible. Maria enjoyed gathering all of the different foods we bought and mixing them together (while she taste-tested each one separately). She also decorated the mason jars and took her time trying to determine what decoration would look best for each person. I love how she put thought into each jar that she decorated; Mario, on the other hand, placed random stars and hearts on all his jars.

On thanksgiving morning, we drove down to the YMCA to serve the homeless man at the shelter. We have been doing this for about three years, and the kids thoroughly enjoy it. It helps that one of my long-time buddies runs the program and is really great with the kids. The men are also great with the kids – talking to them, thanking them for their service, and teasing them. The kids actively engage with them, especially Maria who sits down with them at their table and asks about their lives. One man approached me and told me how impressed he was with Maria in the way that she could talk to him and make eye contact. It made him feel special.

We got back home in time to shower and greet our guests from Cincinnati. They arrived with much good food and wine and treats. It was an easy year for us on the turkey front. Jon bought two of them from Ray Ray’s hog pit so we had nothing to cook. There is something to be said for going the easy route some years… (especially when Patrick isn’t around to help!).

Everyone mingled and got caught up on the latest news … and cooed over Elena before dinner. The potatoes actually took the longest this year because my mom had so many in the pot. It was starting to be a stressful situation but they finally came to a boil and we were able to mash them and get them on the table to be served. We chowed on our carbs and went into our annual daze. Folks on the couch watching football and folks in the kitchen cleaning up.

We went for our annual walk around the block after the dishes, which pleased Rocco greatly. Shortly thereafter, most of the crew left. But the diehard liberals stuck around to talk about their displeasure with the election … and Aunt Ann’s new beau.

We capped the evening off by meeting up with Sarah, Elena, and Jorge at their hotel. We brought some snacks with us and enjoyed jumping on the bed and playing farm with Elena before she went to bed – definitely the highlight of the day for Maria.

There was no getting up at 4 AM to shop on Friday morning – we slept in letting the carbs run through our bodies.

And so part one of three has ended of the holiday get-togethers. Christmas and New Year’s are breathing down my neck. But as much as I cringe at the thought of untangling Christmas lights and shopping on-line, I truly love this time of year. People are more pleasant. Someone even hurriedly hopped in his car when he saw me waiting for his space (one if my worst pet peeves are people taking ten minutes to climb in their car and reverse out of a space). Everyone seems to have a good attitude and I get a lot more “hellos” from passerbys.
Because of all this good cheer, I figured I’d add to the spirit and take Ri and her friend and Mario and his friend to lunch the last day of school before Thanksgiving break. Mario didn’t quite understand why I was there since I surprised him. He thought I was taking him home for the day. So what was at first elation to see me turned to sourpuss and pleading to leave school for the day. But after explaining five times over that only big kids get to go to lunch with their mom, he decided he’d take what he could get. Ri and her friend stood at the door anxious for chicken strips and ranch dressing. We headed out to Marshall’s across the street dodging snowballs from the boys.

The fish were a big hit with the boys as well as the pool table. The girls just wanted to sit alone and play music. And eat.

I took the kids back to school and gave Mario ten hugs goodbye. That evening, I addressed thank you cards to everyone that was coming to Thanksgiving dinner. The kids got into holiday mode – they played on electronics and made a fort in our bedroom.
We woke on Thanksgiving morning and drove down to the YMCA to feed some of the homeless men. They already had enough servers so we just went around to the tables and said hi to them. The first man we said hi to was wearing a long sweatshirt. After Mario told him his name, the man rolled up his sleeve and showed us the name “Mario” tattooed on his arm. Too funny. Mario was in awe (and will probably try to get one himself in five years). Next, we went upstairs to where they were hosting 15 women, and made cards for them to place on their chairs. Maria asked what to write and I told her just something nice. I looked over a few minutes later and she had written “Happy Thanksgiving! You are special just the way you are.” What a doll. Mario drew turkeys and flowers on his card. We went back downstairs after the card-making and visited with some more folks. The final man we talked to was from Alabama and he talked about the snakes and turkeys in Alabama. He kept the kids’ attention and had me cracking up. He was hilarious. We left after an hour and went home to greet the Ionno family and my mom and sister. Jon was fast at work getting the turkeys together.
The crew showed up around 1 and the cousins ran around like wild animals while we all slaved over the meal. Actually, I got off easy this year because I kept going outside with Rocco and taking walks with my mom and Lou. Oh, and then there was the obligatory run to the grocery to get more peppadews…(anything to avoid mashing potatoes). However, I was put on clean-up duty. Nonetheless, by the time all the dishes were done, we were ready for pie and ice cream. Homemade pumpkin pie from Patty. Yum. We made sure to sing an extra loud birthday song to her.

Patty gave me a second November birthday present by taking the kids with her back to Marion on Thursday night and keeping them until today. Unbelievable that woman is! She has to help Joe get around all the time now plus she adds on these kids. She is the energizer bunny. And the kids LOVE going to stay with her. They hate coming home even when they are up there for four days. She is a lot of fun though; I’d stay, too.
My sis stayed with Jon and me through Saturday. I can’t believe the two most anti-mall gals braved Black Friday shopping. Sar was determined to get gifts for her in-laws in Mexico so I couldn’t say no. We even got a movie and a massage in before she left!

By today, Jon and I were both missing the kids and ready to squeeze them when they walked through the door. Of course, within five minutes of walking through the door, Mario was whining about his toy not working and Ri was talking so loud you’d have thought her eardrums had burst.

Ahh, home sweet home!

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: YMCA

Thanks giving

Thanksgiving 2013