Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are all safe and healthy and enjoying time with your families. In all honesty, this autumn has been a little difficult for my family. After an elective surgery, my mother collapsed and ended up in the ICU for a week; and just a few weeks ago, my grandmother passed away, days away from her 93rd birthday.

Circa 1984 - My grandmother holding my brother Nick,
my brother Ryan in front of her, ME with horrible hair and pink stripes,
my mom beside me, with my sister Jill in front (equally bad hair),
and my grandfather on the far right.

I live on the East Coast with my son, but the rest of my family is out West. So I have traveled back home twice in the last couple months. And while I wish the circumstances for my travels had been different, I realized during both of these trips how much I miss my family and being so far away from them.

Don't get me wrong. I talk to my mother almost every day, and I do text my sister and brothers fairly regularly. It's almost like I'm there... except I'm not. Getting the opportunity to see my adorable nephews, getting the chance to play board games with my siblings, being able to have dinner with my family as a whole... I really have missed that.

I have one sister and two brothers. And you can look long and hard for the rest of your life and you'd be hard pressed to find four more different people on the planet than the four of us. There have been a number of times over the years where I'm not quite sure how any of us are related to the each other.

From our world views to our religious beliefs, none of us are alike. And when we *do* get together, we may be older, but those old sibling rivalries come blazing right back without missing a beat.

Believe it or not, my sister and I are still having the same argument we've been having for the last 35 years. It involves whether or not I told her to "do something" to herself (which ended in her lodging a holly berry up her nose and having to go the emergency room) or whether I told her to "wait in the waiting room" as we were playing doctor's office with my friend Tricia. Specifically, we were playing dentist's office, which I remember clearly as I was concocting fluoride treatment out of Lawry's seasoning salt and water. (Yes, it is disgusting... but as we were playing dentist, there would be no reason for me to tell her to stick a holly berry up her nose, but I digress.) As crazy as that sounds, there's a comfort in that old bickering, a familiarity that can never be experienced with anyone else.

I know their strengths and weaknesses and they know mine. I know which buttons to push to send one of them into orbit and they know the fastest way to make me lose my temper. They know all my childhood secrets and I know theirs. And I love the three of them with all my heart.

So, if you are fortunate enough to see those crazy people who are your siblings this holiday season, give 'em extra tight squeeze. I wish I could be with mine, but no matter how far away I am, I know I'm forever in their hearts and they are forever in mine.

And if you're an only child (which I was for five glorious years until the rest of those people came along) you will not have to argue over who gets the wishbone this week, or why it's not your turn to sit at the kiddie table, or that you did NOT tell your sister to stick a holly berry up her nose for the three millionth time.

No matter how or who you're celebrating Thanksgiving with, I hope it is a most joyous occasion!

With Christmas right around the corner, I am offering an audiobook copy of LADY PATIENCE'S CHRISTMAS KITTEN to be drawn randomly. As Lady Patience knows a thing or two about siblings (she's a triplet with two older half-brothers) I thought her story would make a most appropriate giveaway.

To be eligible for the drawing, tell me about your siblings, if you have them. And if you're an only child (who never had to argue over bathroom time or whose turn it was to put the dishes away) tell me about your favorite Thanksgiving memory!

And if you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter, please click HERE! An additional audiobook will be giveaway to one lucky *new* newsletter subscriber.

*Remember all comments on all of the Turkey Trot Blog Hop blogs will be counted for the grand prize giveaway. The more blogs you visit, and the more comments you make, the better your chances are for winning.

ALL TURKEY TROT BLOG HOP LINKS

Wish Me Luck, I'm Gonna Need It...

Ok. It looks like it's headed east... Use your imagination.

In a few hours, I will board a plane headed for the Rocky Mountains for a 9 day visit with my family. But I’m not going alone. Oh, no. I’m taking my teenage son and my wonderful boyfriend (better known to my Twitter followers as “the scientist”), who is either insane or the bravest man I know for agreeing to go on this sojourn out west.  Other than my son, he has never met any of my family until now.

I mean, my whole family will be there: my mother, grandmother, brothers, sister, nephews, etc. (The etc. would be my brother-in-law and my soon to be sister-in-law, my long-time BFF and her family, not that I was trying to be dismissive. And now the etc. doesn’t matter as I’ve spelled it all out.)

But in short – YES – everyone.  Warts and all. (I don’t think anyone actually has any warts, but you know what I mean.)

Of course, my hair is longer and redder.
AND I'm a girl, but you get the idea.
Not attractive. Not at all. 

Now that it’s time to leave, I’m not sure if I’m quite ready for this trip. I mean, I’m all packed. I’ve got our boarding passes, my car reservation, our hotel reservation. Technically, I’m ready. But it’s a little nerve wracking to think about the sheer number of people who will suddenly be thrust in front of the scientist in just a few hours.  I am terrified someone will do something to scare him off.  And then I’ll have to kill that particular family member.  And I’ll end up in jail. And as Andris Bear is fond of saying, “Prison orange is not my color.”

So in preparation, and to head off any stints in the joint, I have threatened both of my brothers with slow, torturous murder should they misbehave in front of the scientist. Yes, they’re both grown men, but the threats are necessary, let me just assure you. (Even if the threat *is* empty.)

There’s not much I can do with my grandmother. I don’t think threats would work with her. And though she loves me, she’s a bit of a wildcard with virtually no filter as she approaches her 90^th birthday, and I’m never quite sure what will come out of her mouth. Note to self: KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON GRANDMA.

I’m fairly confident I can trust my mother, sister, and brother-in-law to all seem like reasonable people. Thank God for them. My nephews are as precocious and precious as they can be and I’m not worried about them at all, except for maybe upstaging me with their cuteness. I mean I am visiting… I should get all the attention, right? Well, my teenager, my scientist, and me.

Anyway, I have a visit scheduled to see my BFF, her husband and daughter one of the days we’re there. And I can hardly wait to see them. It feels like a lifetime since I’ve laid eyes on them, and I’m fairly certain the scientist will fit right in with this particular group.

It’s the group I’m related to that has my stomach all tied in knots. Don’t get me wrong. I adore my family. I love each and every one of them, despite their quirks or blaring flaws (they know the flaws of which I speak). But maybe I have nothing to worry about. He’s met my son after all. My teenage son. Can anyone be scarier than teenage boys?  Yeah, I’m not sure either…

So, I’ve got a rental car scheduled. (Usually I make my family chauffer me around town to wherever I want to go.) And I’ve got a hotel room reserved for just the scientist and me as my son is looking forward to staying with his cousins during this trip. So, I feel like if we need to escape the group I’m related to, we can do so with relative ease. Hopefully if we do need to make an escape, my family will be understanding. Crossing my fingers on that one.

So tell me, how did you introduce your significant other to your family? Did it go well? Or not so well?  I’m very willing to learn from others’ experiences. Any and all tips, helpful hints, or even well-wishes will be appreciated. Seriously… Wish me luck. I think I’m going to need it.

As a side note... I've had some friends who would like instant play-by-play of any and all newsworthy activities during this trip. So for them - and anyone else who is interested - I'll be live tweeting under #AvaVaca for your enjoyment over the next 9 days.

Originally posted at LadyScribes.blogspot.com August 10, 2012