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Thanksgiving weekend
Nov. 30th, 2015 02:57 pmAs usual, it was a very family Thanksgiving. I live in Minneapolis, but the rest of my family lives in Skokie, one of the north suburbs of Chicago. I was ambivalent enough about traveling there that I was late in buying my plane tickets, but I did find a decent price. My compromise was to head home on Saturday, giving me one day to myself. If I could, I would have made it Saturday afternoon for the return, but the schedules and prices meant that the 7:30 pm flight was the best option.
I flew in on Wednesday afternoon and was met at the airport by my mother. Everything was crowded but moving steadily at both ends.
Wednesday night was dinner with my mother and the local brother's family -- two of the nephews are staying with my mother because their own house has some sort of mold or fungus that makes them sick every time they're BIS (back in Skokie). After dinner, my mother and I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It had its moments, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
Thursday morning was bowling with family and a bunch of people that have been doing this for over 60 years, though of course there's been a lot of turnover. Also brunch, because people bring bagels and other food.
Thursday afternoon my mother and I watched the DVR'd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, fast-forwarding through all the commercials and a lot of the commentary.
Thursday evening was Thanksgiving dinner at my SIL's. Small crowd this year, with only 10 people.
Friday morning, I went to Lands' End as the doors opened, which is my one Black Friday tradition. I've gained some weight in the past couple of years, having decided that I'm done with dieting. I seem to have stabilized where I am now, and I bought three pairs of slacks, a nice dress, and a bunch of tops, all for $187. The receipt said I saved over $400 over the original prices.
Friday afternoon, most of my brother's family was over to hang out, and then the oldest nephew and his fiancé came with their two small dogs for Shabbat dinner. They used to have just one well-behaved dog, but the new dog is yappy and not so well-behaved. My mother had told him it was okay to bring the one dog originally, and now feels she can't rescind the invitation when there are two. The second dog pooped on the carpet, and barked through most of dinner. The fiancé explained that they're training the dog by ignoring her when she barks, which is all very well, but means the rest of us have to live with it. Other than that, it was a nice family dinner, but when I retreated to my room for a few minutes of introverted decompression, I should have locked the door, because my SIL walked in on my twice. The first time, fine, but the second time she should have had a clue.
Early Saturday morning, I went with my two nephews to deliver my mother's and a friend's cars to a transport place. They put the cars on a carrier to take them down to Florida. My mother became a snowbird a few years ago, and will be flying south for the winter on Tuesday. After that, we took an Uber to my brother and SIL's synagogue, where they were having a service and oneg (after-service food and chat) in honor of my mother's 80th birthday. We ended up reporting the Uber driver for taking us the wrong way and (much more scary) cutting off a driver to exit the highway, almost causing an accident. First time I've ever had problems with Uber.
Saturday morning services were somewhat interesting. This is a Reconstructionist congregation that has been functioning without a rabbi for over a year, though they're searching for a new one. Lots of politics, I gather. It's not the prayerbook I'm used to (I grew up in a Reform congregation), and only knew about half the music. Instead of a sermon, the leader asked people to talk about people who are influences on them. I hate public speaking, but with this being in honor of my mother, I managed to say something about my parents' involvement in community and how that inspired me to volunteer for things I wouldn't have otherwise.
Saturday evening, everyone else went off to the housewarming for oldest nephew and fiancé -- they've bought a house in Buffalo Grove. Instead of driving out there and then having to take a long Uber to the airport shortly after arriving, I stayed in Skokie and took the shorter Uber to the airport in good time for my flight.
Finally got home around 9:30, and decided I was too tired to go to a friend's party, even though it would probably still be going strong.
On Sunday, I got to hang out with my cat, my spinning wheel, and the Vikings game. And the Vikings won (now 8-3), which was a relief after the disaster that was last week.
I flew in on Wednesday afternoon and was met at the airport by my mother. Everything was crowded but moving steadily at both ends.
Wednesday night was dinner with my mother and the local brother's family -- two of the nephews are staying with my mother because their own house has some sort of mold or fungus that makes them sick every time they're BIS (back in Skokie). After dinner, my mother and I watched Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. It had its moments, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.
Thursday morning was bowling with family and a bunch of people that have been doing this for over 60 years, though of course there's been a lot of turnover. Also brunch, because people bring bagels and other food.
Thursday afternoon my mother and I watched the DVR'd Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, fast-forwarding through all the commercials and a lot of the commentary.
Thursday evening was Thanksgiving dinner at my SIL's. Small crowd this year, with only 10 people.
Friday morning, I went to Lands' End as the doors opened, which is my one Black Friday tradition. I've gained some weight in the past couple of years, having decided that I'm done with dieting. I seem to have stabilized where I am now, and I bought three pairs of slacks, a nice dress, and a bunch of tops, all for $187. The receipt said I saved over $400 over the original prices.
Friday afternoon, most of my brother's family was over to hang out, and then the oldest nephew and his fiancé came with their two small dogs for Shabbat dinner. They used to have just one well-behaved dog, but the new dog is yappy and not so well-behaved. My mother had told him it was okay to bring the one dog originally, and now feels she can't rescind the invitation when there are two. The second dog pooped on the carpet, and barked through most of dinner. The fiancé explained that they're training the dog by ignoring her when she barks, which is all very well, but means the rest of us have to live with it. Other than that, it was a nice family dinner, but when I retreated to my room for a few minutes of introverted decompression, I should have locked the door, because my SIL walked in on my twice. The first time, fine, but the second time she should have had a clue.
Early Saturday morning, I went with my two nephews to deliver my mother's and a friend's cars to a transport place. They put the cars on a carrier to take them down to Florida. My mother became a snowbird a few years ago, and will be flying south for the winter on Tuesday. After that, we took an Uber to my brother and SIL's synagogue, where they were having a service and oneg (after-service food and chat) in honor of my mother's 80th birthday. We ended up reporting the Uber driver for taking us the wrong way and (much more scary) cutting off a driver to exit the highway, almost causing an accident. First time I've ever had problems with Uber.
Saturday morning services were somewhat interesting. This is a Reconstructionist congregation that has been functioning without a rabbi for over a year, though they're searching for a new one. Lots of politics, I gather. It's not the prayerbook I'm used to (I grew up in a Reform congregation), and only knew about half the music. Instead of a sermon, the leader asked people to talk about people who are influences on them. I hate public speaking, but with this being in honor of my mother, I managed to say something about my parents' involvement in community and how that inspired me to volunteer for things I wouldn't have otherwise.
Saturday evening, everyone else went off to the housewarming for oldest nephew and fiancé -- they've bought a house in Buffalo Grove. Instead of driving out there and then having to take a long Uber to the airport shortly after arriving, I stayed in Skokie and took the shorter Uber to the airport in good time for my flight.
Finally got home around 9:30, and decided I was too tired to go to a friend's party, even though it would probably still be going strong.
On Sunday, I got to hang out with my cat, my spinning wheel, and the Vikings game. And the Vikings won (now 8-3), which was a relief after the disaster that was last week.
