Thanksgiving 2014: After arriving in GA on Wednesday night, we began unloading into the house that was on loan to us for the occassion and directly across from my parents house. It was very poorly lit and no sooner had my Dad tried to warn Mark to watch his step than Mark missed a step. CRUNCH! BIG MAN DOWN! It was a comedy of errors just getting him into the house. We found out the next morning (Thanksgiving Day) that he had broken his ankle and torn his rotator cuff. We were off to a great start! Dad had worried a great deal about Moms potential behavior on this gathering. I wont say that his concerns were unfounded, but for the most part she did really well. We got out of the ER in time to grab the boys and head over for lunch. None of us had showered and we could only hope the good smells of food would mask any offense we might cause. By the time we got to Mom and Dads, Seester and her husband along with her 27 year old son and his girlfriend had already descended upon the house. Mom was standing amidst the flurry of activity. She was trying to be pleasant though she was clearly confused and agitated in this sea of percieved strangers. A half an hour or so later we all grasped hands around the table for Dad to say grace. Within the prayer he asked God to be with Mark in his injured state, he thanked him for our safe travels. Finally, he thanked him for the entire families prescence and noted that it may be our last chance to be together in this way. I sensed hands clenching a bit tighter around the circle and heard others swallow as hard as I did before heads were raised and the feasting began. Dad has to feed her and she is so tiny that she rarely eats more than 6 or 7 bites at any meal. As she ate, she kept asking Dad who we were. Once she was full and her agitation began to surface, she set about traveling. This is what Dad calls it when she begins to wander aimlessly around the house mumbling and pointing at things we cannot see. Dad quietly set the alarm that warns him if she has gone into the bathroom so that he can run check to see if she needs any help. We managed to get her back to the table for dessert. Sweets are never to be missed. Once everyone was finished we all chipped in to help clean up. There was so much activity that at one point she got next to my Dad and said, Listen to me, PLEASE!. Those words spoke volumes. They spoke even louder when she had nothing more to say. We quickly finished cleaning up and it was on to the singing!! Dad and Cole on guitar, Mark on concertina and Seester on piano. We sang Christmas Carols and old hymns. Mom lit up and began to sing every word in her clear sweet voice. At the end of the songs she would clap and declare, We did it!, as if certainly we should be playing to sold out houses across the nation. Her delightful sense of humorcan still appear and when it does it is made all the more special by its growing rarity. Just as quickly as her joy had begun, it was lost. Her sparkling eyes clouded over, her brow furrowed and the traveling began again. Not too much later, she became truly fretful and we all decided that it was time to leave. I was the last one out the door since we were just staying across the street. As I left I told Mom, Were gonna go and leave yall alone.. Without missing a beat she said, Well, I didnt think you would.. So ends a beautiful Thanksgiving. Hope you were all equally blessed.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 03:31:44 +0000
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