Belated Thanksgiving

I finally got around to posting what I wrote about our Thanksgiving.


We survived Thanksgiving. Not without incident, but at least Primero and I didn't fight. We had dinner at my aunt and uncle's place first. There were less people there this year than in the past. My sister was notably missing because she decided to celebrate Thanksgiving with her husband in their new house. My aunt and maternal grandparents were also absent. My mom wasn't feeling good, so my parents didn't stay too long. My cousin, who sometimes babysits, ate and left to spend time with her boyfriend’s family. And so, it was rather quiet. Still, the food was good and Primero actually sat and talked to me, instead of staying hidden in his phone. He was still on his phone, announcing what was happening at his uncle's place.



As was pre-planned, we stayed at my aunt and uncles place until 6:30 and then left for his uncle's place, arriving just before 7. When we got there and Primero opened his door, he groaned, "Uh-oh, I hope that's not coming from my uncle's place." Someone had just stormed out of the house, swearing. His mom was soon to follow and we all walked past her, oblivious to what was happening inside the house. We had barely walked inside when I could hear shouting, cursing, and threats. It was apparent something had happened and everyone was very agitated. I stood awkwardly near the front door, imploring the little ones to keep their jackets on as I was worried the altercation would escalate into chaos and we would need to quickly leave. After a few minutes of shouting, of Primero being directed to take his mom upstairs and talk to her, I heard his uncle yell, "Get the f$@# out of my house!" Some brief scuffling ensued before things seemed to calm down. Primero followed his mom downstairs and his aunt, who had been outside crying, came back inside. The tension slowly began to dissipate and I felt comfortable enough to take the kids jackets off. I found out later that Primero's grandfather had, rudely, said to his aunt, "You aren't dead yet?" This rude comment was made to a woman who survived two heart attacks and has a permanent raspy voice due to a tracheotomy. The ensuing fall-out nearly ended the Thanksgiving celebration, but luckily things calmed down once the grandfather was ejected from the house and soon the party was back in full swing.



There was a striking difference between my aunt and uncle’s place and Primero’s aunt and uncles place, most noticeable in the noise level. I was surprised the kids held up as well as they did, with only minor break-downs due to being up much later than usual. I found that dividing our time equally helped to keep our unmet expectations from starting a fight. The only hiccup I felt we incurred was when Primero asked to spend the night at his other uncle’s place. He did this same thing the last time we were at a family function and it grates on me because a) I hate the last-minute planning thing and b) it’s frustrating to make plans and then have them re-routed because a better offer came along. Still, the holiday goes down in history as the first one we didn’t have a quarrel and for that I am grateful.