23.11.2001
feeling kinda
*deep sigh* why is it that the holiday season gets harder every year? it turned out to be a good day, overall, but there were so many points where i thought i wasn't going to make it thru, would much rather have curled up in a corner sobbing, just wanted to shut everyone out, call 'no fair-sies!', take my toys and go home.
what is it about the holiday season that does this to us? well, me. for all i know (and i hope you did), you all had wonderful, stress free holidays, those of you observing the American Paean to Grazing.
and it wasn't even as if there were any Highly Dramatic Moments. all around, it was a quiet day. of course, it probably didn't help that i was stressed from the outset, having spent the night before tinkering around with HTML to make the outpost all cinnamon brown. that meant that i got up pretty early, but not nearly early enough to get everything on my list done.
getting to my brother's was like a Steve Martin film. bus to subway to train to car. and i figured i was making good time when the bus came along early. if i leave my house the same time the bus starts its route, i generally wait a few minutes. not yesterday. it came humming around the corner at a good clip.
this was followed by slowing down to a crawl a few blocks later. first i figure it's traffic, altho there wasn't really anyone on the road. then i think it might be an accident, as there are flashing blue lights. curiousity finally got the better of me, and i switched seats so i could see what was happening. turns out we were behind the cop car that was pacing the tail end of a road race. Second Annual, gobble gobble, run 5k and end at the bar. (the restaurant sponsors the run.) not a bad race, eh?
as we were crawling along, i gazed out the bus window, mostly just looking to look, but also curious to see what people have done to their house in the name of Seasonal Conviviality. there are a few local football games, heated rivalries between schools, local pride and all that. so some of the houses were festooned in streamers and decked out in hand-lettered signs, red, white and blue, cheering on different kids. for some reason, that made me smile *and* get all weepy. the hell? i'm telling you, the emotional tides of the holidays are nuts.
however, they do have an upside. as i was hunting around for a decent cup of chai at the station while waiting for the train, this gentleman came up to me. it was clear he had a sob story. and i listened. for once, i squashed the voices that said it was all a scam. instead, i gave him a few dollars for bus fare and talked with him for a while. the more we talked, the less it felt like a scam. you just can't invent that much of a life, i don't think. either way, i hope he got where he needed to and had a good holiday. he introduced himself as we were parting - the fact that he has the same name as my brother i took to be a sign that it was the right thing to do to help him out. odd, isn't it, how we see or find signs when we need them?
dinner at bro's was lovely. upwards of 20 people over the day, and we ate for 10 hours. no joke. there were appetizers, and dinner, then dessert, and then dinner #2. i mostly stayed quiet and out of the way, just letting the day wash over me.
the funniest part of the day (amusing in retrospect, as it all worked out) was the Fort Knox Incident. somehow, my sis in-law bumped the lever on the front of the oven. she had just taken out the turkey and stuffing and turnips and put all the rest of the vegetables in to reheat. and the lever. got. stuck.
14 people ready to sit down for dinner, and all the food is locked in the oven. i'm surprised she didn't have a little meltdown right then and there.
it took 8 people upwards of a half hour to extricate the vegetables from their well-protected safe. (segue: didn't safe used to be a term for an oven, or cupboard, or icebox?) i had gone into the living room to stay out of the way, and heard 'bbrrrrzzzzzt!' from the kitchen. i was sure they'd broken out the power tools. :) turns out it was just the electric knife, as sis in-law was carving the turkey. but i'm sure we were mere moments away from breaking out the power tools to liberate the rest of dinner.
so. all in all, a nice day with good company and far too much food, as it should be on T-Day. hope you and yours had a peaceful day.
