Together

We were supposed to get up to my dad and step mom’s place around 1:30 for our Thanksgiving meal.  The gang at Todd’s house and Mindy’s mom all piled into their tank-sized Q45 for the ride.  The vehicle was stuffed with people, food, and we even found room for my One Wheel.  When we pulled up to their house I was surprised to see my brother Patrick’s car there, I thought he was staying in Pittsburgh with his girlfriend.  It was a treat that he was there.

Shortly after we arrived my sister Meg, Paul and their two little girls arrived.  Yes, the same two little girls I had so much fun with in the Adirondacks in July.  It took very little time for them to start engaging me to play with them.  Of course I was happy to oblige.

The meal was split across two tables since there were so many people.  As is always the case, my step mom did an amazing job preparing the food and laying out everything in a beautiful way.  I sat at the younger table which provided a lot of entertainment, especially from Cadence and Kennedy. Another special part of the meal was my dad and Teresa had actually secured and prepared a Tofurkey for me which they certainly did not need to do.  It was a very thoughtful gesture.

Of course football was on throughout the day which we watched off and on as we entertained the girls.  Eventually we moved outside.  I mentioned I brought my OneWheel but Patrick also brought his Segway S2 EUC that I bought him several years ago.  In addition my dad had a golf cart that the girls like riding around on so a plan was devised.  Todd drove the golf cart with the girls while Patrick and I gave chase on our PEV’s.

Todd had a clear advantage on the grass in a four wheel vehicle.  Patrick and I had to be more careful on the very uneven and slightly frozen ground so we couldn’t keep up.  We could however cut angles and get through small spots that they could not.  The girls loved it.

At one point I thought I would show off for Paul and decided to try to jump the OneWheel from one level of the patio to another, some 8-10 inches lower.  Well I didn’t have enough speed and I hit the edge a bit angled instead of straight.  The end result was my eating shit, falling pretty hard on my right hip and elbow.  Of course I was not wearing the safety gear which I had in the vehicle, stupid.  I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a thick hoodie when I fell so it helped somewhat.  I did entertain the idea of putting on gear and trying again but I reconsidered.

Everyone started leaving around 6ish. It was great seeing everyone, and made me appreciate the effort Teresa put into making it all happen.  Even though I don’t get to see my family much being thousands of miles away, I do love and miss them.

When we got back to Todd’s place I assisted in the holiday transition process.  Mindy is very stylish and decorates the house accordingly.  I was the pack mule in the process helping to transport items and bins up and down the steps as Thanksgiving decor was replaced with Christmas flavor.  The amount of decorations they have is staggering, making me appreciate that my Christmas decorations all fit in a couple bins in the garage.  I also realized that if Mindy saw how I decorate my house for Christmas with inflatables and various light styles and colors, she would probably cringe.

I slept like a log last night.  Today is my last day before pulling out early tomorrow morning so I will be running around looking for a couple things.  It is Black Friday after all.