This was originally published on my self-hosted blog January 23, 2007.
*WARNING: Rant ahead.
(Day 11 has ended – still NO power!!)
(I was exhausted in this picture).
The kids went back to school today. (They had been out of school for nearly two weeks when this happened).
I’m relieved. Okay actually, no, I’m not. I’m jealous. They get to go to a warm building, WITH lights. And I’m stuck at home, cold and in the dark.
I shouldn’t complain. The hubs hot-wired the house heater into the generator so its now possible to walk through the entire house without a coat on. And it’s daytime, and the sun is shining, sort of. But I’m alone for the first time in eleven days and I miss the rug rats.
I have a meeting with a prospective client at 10:15. After that I plan on heading out to the library because the thought of going back home, back to the cave, just doesn’t appeal to me.
I know I shouldn’t complain, we’ve had it so much better than most people. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that, but dang it. Just HOW LONG does it take to restore power, anyway?
I’m tired of being teased. I’m tired of having my hopes raised and then smashed into a thousand shards of sharp disappointment. The utility company has called, twice. The first time was several days ago. This gal asked if we had power, we told her no, and she very cheerfully said, “Okay. Well, you should have power by this afternoon. I’ll call back.”
We all got very excited. Yay! This torture is almost over! We can get back to normal! We’ve survived bitter cold temperatures and pitch-black rooms and cooking on our propane BBQ grill inside the house!
That was four or five days. Then last night, another gal called and asked if we had power, “Uh, no.” My husband said firmly. “We haven’t had power since the 12th at 10:15 p.m.”
She hem-hawed around for a bit and when my husband asked her if she had any idea when we WOULD get power, she gave us the standby answer, “We can’t really say but crews are close.”
Riiiiiiiiight. How many times have we heard that crock of crap? I’m beginning to think the utility company doesn’t know their head from their arse. Yes, I’m bitter. I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with this camping in our own home deal. It’s time to move on and get back to normal, for cripes sake!!
Our trash hasn’t been picked up in two weeks. I called last week. I got a recorded message about how they were trying to keep out of the utility trucks way, yaddayaddayadda. Funny how the other trash companies made their regular rounds.
Okay, so we’ll put two weeks worth of trash at the curb. And two weeks worth of trash is STILL sitting out by the curb. Our trash guys were supposed to be here today. They weren’t. Why do I feel like we’ve been forgotten? I have to tell you, it’s really hard to stay positive right now. I’m sick to death of all of this incompetence. Yes, I KNOW it was the worst storm we’ve had in 20 years. Yes I KNOW 75,000 people lost their electricity. But why did we have to be the first to lose it and why the hell are we the last to get it back?
Yes, I’m cranky. It really irritates me when people don’t do their jobs, or don’t do them efficiently. I know those utility guys are out there working 15-hour days. But dang it, I can’t help but wonder if they are chasing their tails. Why else would the utility company call to see if we had power – twice?? Am I missing something here?
And what is up with people stealing generators? And robbing power-less houses? What is WRONG with people? We have a minor catastrophe and people go nuts. Perhaps this guy stole a generator to keep his family warm. Perhaps he couldn’t afford to buy a generator. I can kind of understand the need to do whatever it takes to protect your family, but what about the family you took the generator from??
I’m ranting. I know. I’m sorry. I’m frustrated, tired, and coming down with a cold. I just want things to get back to normal. We’re becoming “those poor people who still don’t have power.” We’ve become those people that other people shake their heads at and thank God aren’t in our situation.
I’m sick of being stuck out in the cold. Literally. I’m tired of trying to keep a positive attitude. I’m sick of trying to clamp down on my frustration and pretend everything is all right in front of the kids so they don’t freak out.
I’m tired of being strong.
I’m sick to death of being the worse case scenario!
Ed. note: The day after this entry posted, we finally got our power back. I was driving back into our driveway and prepared to get out of my car to manually open the garage door when I saw it – the light above the garage door was on. I remember both laughing and crying in relief. I was never so happy to see lights in my life.
We had been out of power for 11 1/2 days. A lot of people couldn’t hack it and moved into hotels during that time period until their power came back on. We opted to stay and protect our house because thieves were rampant during that time period. It was one of the strangest experiences of my entire life. I pray we never have another ice storm like that for many, many, MANY years.
I found a great video of the damage we sustained during that ice storm of ’07 on YouTube.
This was originally published on my self-hosted blog January 17, 2007.
Well, we’re still without power.
Tomorrow will be one week. I can’t believe we’ve endured bitterly cold weather without power for one week. It doesn’t seem possible.
The boys and I went to lunch with hubby today. While out, we came across some guys selling wood. So now we have wood to burn. It’s wet, but we’re hoping we can keep our fire hot enough that it’s still usable.
When we came home, I tackled the generator by myself. I’m pleased to report that I got that thing up and running all by myself! It’s tougher to crank than I thought it would be. I then put a firelog in the fireplace and turned on the insert. We have heat! I’m pretty proud of myself for taking care of this by myself. The hubs was usually the person to do all of that. I guess I need to start learning, eh?
We’ve seen a ton of CU trucks all over town, just none of them in our neighborhood. We still have no idea when we’ll get power but we’re adapting. I hate to say this but I think we’re getting used to not having electricity. You don’t really know what you’re made of until times like these come along. I’m pleased to report, I’m tougher than I thought. 😀
I know ya’ll are probably sick to death of hearing about this right about now, but I now have a deeper appreciation for earlier generations. It truly takes all of your time and energy just figuring out how to survive something like this. We spent the entire day just thinking about how we’re going to survive the night. At least the artic front has moved past. It’s supposed to start warming up beginning tomorrow, thank God. We got through a zero degree night last night (two in a roll), we could sure use some warmth.
Our yard has been cleaned up. I still can’t believe we were one of the first people on the block to have our debris taken away. In some ways, it feels like this whole thing never affected us, though we all know differently. 🙂 It’s nice to look outside and see our neighbors again, as opposed to seeing a bunch of icy branches. I took pictures before the crew cleaned up and I’ll post some of those later.
There are so many things I want to tell you! All throughout this experience I’ve been thinking, “I need to blog about this!” But of course, finding a pen and then paper to write it down in the dark seemed like too much effort so I’ve forgotten half of what I wanted to tell you guys. However, I’ll summarize it for you. Bare with me.
January 12, 10:30 p.m.
We lost power. I’ve already talked about what that was like. If I had known we would still be without power one week later, I would have had a nervous breakdown.
January 13
We spent the entire day walking around in a daze. We couldn’t believe this was happening, let alone what to do about it. We frantically drove around and gathered resources – firelogs, candles. We couldn’t find either. Saturday was the second wave of the storm. We had already received one inch of ice, we were in the throes of getting another inch. We stopped at a Sonic for lunch (we haven’t been able to eat anything at the house. First, we can’t cook [this was before our generator] and we didn’t have anything to eat. We usually go grocery shopping over the weekend and our food supply was pretty low to begin with). They had their music up so loud, it was hard to order. I felt the first wave of hysteria at that point. Hello?? Can we get rid of the musak so folks like us can simply SURVIVE? If the kids hadn’t been with us, I probably would have lost it.
We pulled the air mattresses and sleeping bags out of the camper. We pulled my oldest son’s mattress off his bed and I’ve been sleeping in a recliner. The hubs stapled sheets over the doorways and we’ve been living in three rooms ever since (family room, office and kitchen).
We cleaned up our BBQ grill and put it in the kitchen. We turned the propane on from time to time to get warm. When night came, we lit the camp lantern and played a thousand games of Uno.
January 14
We felt a little more upbeat by this time. We were convinced we would get our power back. When we went out for supplies and saw just how much damage had been done to our immediate neighborhood, I cried. There is an entire row of trees on our power lines. I don’t know how the CU guys are going to get through that mess. I suppose they will have to pull the wire out and simply restring it over the fallen trees because I’m sure they don’t have time to clear those things out. Again, I have a picture of that.
We’re starting to develop a routine by this time. We have all of our supplies within easy reach. My folks lent us a kerosene heater (which was a God send) and we started using that at night (I clipped the sheet back so we could get fresh air). The boys are going nuts by this time. They are scared, worried and bored out of their minds. Thank goodness I had bought them a car charger for their Gameboy DS’s because I think they would have gone insane otherwise. The hubs has done a wonderful job of taking care of us, too good, as a matter of fact. Because the thought of him going to work on Monday and leaving me and the kids alone in a dark, cold house makes me cry. (I’ve cried more in these past days than I have in years.)
Our phone rang off the hook that day. Thankfully, we had an old fashion phone ( you know, the one that actually plugs in and has a cord? lol) so everyone was checking up on everyone else. My in-laws came over to check up on us. They were impressed with our survival techniques. They were on their way to buy a generator. All of the stores were sold out of them, of course, but he knew of some people that were selling them off a semi-truck in a parking lot somewhere. So they went and called back to say they bought one. We hurried over there but they were sold out by that time. Well, not exactly sold out, they had some industrial sized ones left (it even came with an automatic remote starter!) for $1,800. Let me repeat that, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS!! Um, no. We’ll freeze to death.
So, we went driving and found another semi-truck in another parking lot, but they had sold out. They were getting another shipment in from Tennessee that night. By the time that time came, we were all too bushed to check it out. So, we didn’t get one.
January 15
The hubs goes to work and I’m not sure what to do with myself. I clean up as best as I can (I had to wash dishes by HAND folks! Talk about torture! lol). We listened to the radio and since there were quite a few gas stations closed due to no power, gas was in short supply. This of course, freaked people out and the stations that were open not only had lines but had to close because they sold out.
The boys and I head to Wal-Mart to see if we can pick up some more firelogs. We had been pretty conservative with our supply by this time but we were running low. We happened to arrive at about the same time they received a shipment. We bought two boxes of firelogs, a couple more candles as well as batteries. I came home feeling triumphant because I had gotten more supplies.
Throughout this entire mess, our cell phones have been out. We couldn’t get a signal so getting hold of the hubs was difficult. I tried calling him several times at work, but he never answered and I was starting to get worried. The roads never really got slick, but considering gas was hard to come by I could imagine him stuck on the side of the road somewhere.
D., my sons’ friend, called and wanted to know if he could stay with us. His mom works nights and they had run out of wood, so he would have been by himself in a dark, cold house. Of course I allowed him to come over – I wasn’t going to let the poor boy freeze to death!
Right after he arrived, the hubs came home. It was about 4:00 by this time. He had gotten off work early and stood in line, in frigid single-digit weather for over an hour and bought us a generator (5500 watts). He came across it by accident, he was driving home when he saw yet another semi-truck (this one was from Nebraska) with a truckload of generators. He came home, we put in some oil and hooked it up. We had lights for the first time in three days. I can’t tell you how thankful we were when those lights came on! So,we hooked up the fireplace blower, turned on the Wi-Fi and I checked my email and the boys played their games. Our spirits were high.
We all slept pretty good that night because we all felt a little more secure in the knowledge that we were “handling” this.
January 16
Someone knocks on our door at about 10:00 in the morning. It’s some guys roaming our neighborhoods wanting to know if we want our debris cleared out. Um, yes! I still can’t believe how little they charged and they did such a great job! So, while the guys were out doing that, the boys and I bundled up our laundry and went to the laundry mat. Geez louise, talk about a nightmare! It was packed (of course), and there was one lady manning the shop. She took our names down and when the number of washing machines became available, she let us have them.
Then, it came time to dry. Getting a dryer was a free-for-all. I literally had to stand by a few to stake my claim and when they became available, I swooped in. Each cycle took 45 minutes (45 minutes!!) and even then, the clothes did get dry. I had to run the jeans and towels through twice (and still had to lay them out to dry when I got home). To top it off, I had stuffed so many clothes in the washer and put too much soap in. By the time I pulled them out of the dryer, I had clothes spotted with dried detergent. I’ll have to run them through yet another rinse cycle and dry them before we can wear them.
But for as busy as the laundry mat was, I was impressed with people’s attitudes. Everyone was as upbeat as could be expected and it was interesting to hear their survival stories. I spent nearly the entire time talking to this one lady, we just hit it off at once, and not only was it nice to talk about what happened, she made me laugh and gave me some tips. Even though we spent a long, gruelling four hours at the laundry mat that day, I left feeling just a bit better about what was happening to all of us.
We then prepared for a zero degree night. Between blankets and sleeping bags, we have more than enough to keep us warm. But the air gets so frigid that you wake up with throbbing nasal passages. The rest of the house (outside our sheet-blocked rooms) is 42 degrees. You can walk through the house and breathe smoke. It’s really a bizarre feeling.
We have hot water, thank God. Taking showers in 40 degrees is not as miserable as you might think. There’s so much steam built up by the time you’re done that it’s actually pretty comfortable, providing you dress fast. It’s strange though to breathe smoke while you’re naked. It’s quite a juxtaposition to be warm in such cold temperatures.
January 17
That brings us to today. I’ve already mentioned we found some wood. I’m sitting here now on pins and needles wondering when the gas in our generator is going to run out and plunge us into darkness once again. It’s a little after 4:00 and I can’t wait for the hubs to come home. It’s creepy being here after dark without my man around. Don’t I sound like an insipid female? lol
So, we’re doing okay. We’re hanging in there. Still no sign of the CU guys. Still no idea when we might get our power back – but we’ll endure the wait. We’ve already been through so much, what’s a few more days? *sigh*
People have been simply wonderful. Even though we’re all uncomfortable and miserable, there’s still room for a quick conversation and time for a smile. We’re all in this together and we’ll survive. This may all sound pretty trivial, especially to Katrina and hurricane survivors, but we have the bitter cold to contend with. It’s pretty scary when you can’t find the warmth you need to survive. There are shelters all over town, but they can only house about 200 people – you can imagine how many people that leaves out in the cold, literally.
We’ve had all sorts of help from all sorts of places come in. I’ve been seeing utility trucks with different license plates all day. It’s comforting to know that people haven’t forgotten about us. A lot of people have been pitching in whenever they can. The guys that cleaned up our yards weren’t actually tree guys but tile guys. I suspect that was one reason they charged so little for such a major cleanup – they were donating their time and resources to help us.
Times like these … I don’t know. It tests people. And I can safely say that the people in the Ozarks have come through with flying colors. We’ve always been so generous with our time and money to help others in need across the country; it really is a comfort when others return the favor.
Thanks again for all the comments and well wishes. You guys are so awesome and it really does help to know that when I get online, I can always count on a chuckle and a smile.
I had had enough and was getting depressed about not having any power. We were one of the last ones to get our power back in the city. Stay tuned …
This was originally published on my self-hosted blog on January 15, 2007
So, we’re alive.
Did you wonder where I was today? Were you worried? I know I have been.
I’ve been in the dark, literally. We’ve been without power since Friday night. It started at 10:30. We were settling in for the night when *boom*, our transformer blew and the lights went out. At first, we weren’t too concerned. After all, we’ve lost them in the past and City Utilities was very good at restoring our power. But when I tried to call, to report our outage, I got a busy signal. I knew right away, something was wrong. I didn’t realize just how bad it was until the next morning. We were in the throes of a major winter storm. We received about an inch of ice Friday night, another two inches on Saturday and finally, another inch Sunday. Our poor trees (we have, oops, correction, HAD, four maple trees) are destroyed. Limbs have snapped and are everywhere. Many of them have fallen on electricty lines and transformers have blown all over the city. Ninety percent of the city is blacked out. Temperatures are frigid and we don’t have heat.
The nights have been the worse. We were so unprepared for this storm. We didn’t have any wood for our fireplace, didn’t have any contingency heating plan. But thank God, the hubs had filled up the two propane tanks on our trailer and the propane tank on the BBQ grill. So, we brought the grill inside the house and have been cooking, and keeping warm, with that.
When my parents found out we were keeping warm with propane, they freaked out. They warned us about carbon monoxide poisoning (which we didn’t even think about!) and thank God, had an extra kerosene heater. We’ve been using that and it’s been WONDERFUL. It’s keeping us warm at night (yes, we make sure there is plenty of ventilation).
I didn’t have very many candles on hand so we’ve been very stingy about lighting them at night. As a result, we’ve been literally sitting in the dark. The boys and I (the hubs fell asleep in a chair) watched a teeny-tiny, battery-operated TV last night by the light of one candle. If you could have seen us, you would have felt sorry for us. lol
The nights have been the worse. Since most of the city is without power, it’s pitch black here. I’ve felt claustophobic (sp). The nights have been LONG and SCARY. It’s such a relief when morning gets here.
The hubs stood in single digit weather for over an hour to buy us a generator trucked in from Nebraska today. I’m posting this from my laptop running from the generator. Our gas is running out and we’ll soon be back to candlelight. No one can tell us when we’ll have power again. But things are so bad, I’m betting it won’t be until the end of this week. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can.
In the meantime, entries will be sporadic. I’ll post whenever I get a chance. I plan on going to the library tomorrow (assuming their power is restored) to get some work done.
Thanks for being patient. Please send positive thoughts and prayers our way. When I say it looks like a war zone here, I’m not exaggerating. Springfield hasn’t seen an ice storm like this in 20 years.
MK is in the eighth grade. And he plays saxophone – he’s a natural, actually. The saxophone is a perfect instrument for him because that boy? Has some SERIOUSLY powerful lungs.
Just saying.
In an attempt to get the kids excited about going to high school next year, and to encourage them to get involved in extracurricular activities, our high school bussed the kids over yesterday for a “get acquainted” assembly.
And in that assembly, they talked to the kids about the various clubs and activities that they could get involved with, if they chose to. And I have to admit, the high school offers a WIDE variety of fun things for the kids to do – I should know, I do their website. 🙂
For those that don’t know, GD is a sophomore, so MK has already heard a few years’ worth of stories about high school, in general. Nothing bad, per se, but GD? Doesn’t like school period. It really wouldn’t matter where he was stationed, he would hate it. GD doesn’t like to be told what to do, where to go and worst of all? To get up early in the morning.
I can’t imagine where he gets that from.
As a result of big brother’s influence, MK is not all that excited about starting high school next year. At least, he wasn’t until the assembly yesterday.
When I picked him up from school, I caught a glimpse of my old MK (as opposed to the grump who has been mimicking his older brother’s “blah-life-only-exists-to-play-games attitude). He was enthusiastic and upbeat and he was FIRED UP to join Japanese club (my boys are both fascinated with Japanese culture in general, which is cool) AND marching band.
*sigh*
I WANT him to be in marching band. He would be good, really good. And he would have some amazing experiences to take away with him. I’ve heard from you all about your incredible experiences in band and I want that for MK; I will never discourage him from joining, or playing.
But oh, the time, travel, and expense this will entail. I’m mentally bracing myself for a very busy year next year.
But that’s okay. Because if that’s what he wants to do, so be it. Like I said, I would never, and will never, let the boy see any sort of waning enthusiasm on my part. I WANT the boys to get involved in extracurricular activities and I wish GD would DO something other than get up, go to school, come home and play games. I really think he would enjoy school, or at least tolerate it, if he got involved in some way.
Of course, this is now. We’ll see what happens when we schedule classes for the 2009/2010 school year next month; MK may change his mind (I hope not). And maybe if MK gets involved with school, that will encourage GD to get involved with school.
(I know, what a lame title. But I have trouble labeling these miscellaneous posts so … sorry *smile*)
Among other things, there are two things about NaNoWriMo that I both love and hate:
1. Love: I write 50,000 in 30 days! No small feat, as I’m sure everyone who has ever participated in the challenge can tell you. But WOW. It’s an incredible feeling when you cross over that goal line (I really only participate to earn those cute winner badges to stick in my sidebar – okay not really – okay, actually I do).
2. Hate: Considering I spend the majority of my days sitting on my butt to begin with (I’m a website designer and maintain about 10 websites) and then I sit even more to write 50,000 words for the challenge and that eats up most of my day and there are barely enough hours in the day for normal activities after that stuff is completed, I don’t work out. So by the time November 30th gets here? My jeans are tight and say hello to my attractive muffin top.
Hello muffin top. It’s nice to meet you. Now go away.
*sigh*
The first place I gain weight is around my waist, then it balloons into my belly and I start retaining water and my face puffs out next. The husband can always tell I’m gaining weight just by looking at my face. It sucks, actually.
I worked out for the first time in weeks this past Sunday and I. Thought. I. Was. Going. To. Die. In fact, I had to stop mid-way through my 20 minute Turbo Jam session to catch my breath.
That’s disgusting, folks. I was doing the 40 minute session with energy to spare in October. It’s amazing how fast my body slips back into slug mode.
Anyway, with the holidays coming up, I will need to get serious about my work out schedule again because buying bigger clothes? Not an option! NO way, NO how. This means I will have to be uncomfortable until I lose some weight, because hello?! Nothing motivates me more to lose weight than not being able to breathe.
This is neither here nor there, but what is up with everyone writing “Anyways” in their blog posts. AARGH! Stop it, that drives me nuts! Would you SAY anyways when you’re talking?
Tick tock, Christmas is coming! *runs in a panicked circle*
Actually, I’m in pretty good shape. The boys are mostly done and I just ordered a few things for the husband. All that I have left to do for my immediate family is stocking stuffers and a few odds and ends. We’re taking it easy on each other this year. I won’t tell you how many presents we’ve agreed upon for each other (well, the husband and I – SANTA still brings the boys’ presents and will continue to do so! Don’t look at me like that, I KNOW my boys are teenagers. Hush) because well, we tend to go overboard with each other every year anyway but suffice it to say, we’re cutting back. Not just because of the money situation (though there’s that) but simply because we’re reaching that stage in our life where we have everything we want/need. Now we’re spending money for the sake of spending money and that’s just silly.
Close your ears, men.
I just spent $45 dollars on two bras. BRAS! Isn’t that insane!
I can just hear my mother, “Pfft, you can buy bras at Wal-Mart for $10.” I know, but they’re freaking uncomfortable. And I end up spending an embarrassing amount of time making obscure adjustments. No, I spent $45 on two bras (it was buy one, get one half off and it’s hard to justify not buying another one when you know you’re going to need another sooner or later) on Barely There bras. And no, I’m not going to link to that bra brand because I don’t want you to think I got paid for saying that. (Though I would certainly take the money if offered! hinthint!).
Barely There bras are the best bras I have ever worn. They are so comfy it’s like, wait for it, they’re barely there! 😀
BUT, I don’t feel too badly about this because I have two bras that will last me two years. Yes, I wear one bra until the under wire snaps and then I’m forced to go buy another one. Now, I have a backup bra when I need to wash my “main” bra (I wore sports bras before because ew, I don’t do the au naturale thing, thankyouverymuch).
That was way too much information for you, wasn’t it.
This picture doesn’t really mean anything
other than the fact that this adorable child is one of my nephews and he is a total goofball who loves to make people smile.
Admit it, you smiled.
What kind of world do we live in when a chocoholic, such as myself, can’t digest chocolate?!
Have you had Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha Twist? Oh. My. Dear. Lord. In. Heaven. They are DREAMY! And CREAMY! And I love them! But they hate me! And I suffer for days whenever I drink one of them!
Life is so unfair.
And lastly …
Did you notice that I’m posting Christmas music? Did ja, huh? Well, I am. All you have to do is click on the gray arrow and enjoy a Christmas tune, courtesy of me.
Christmas song #2 Winter Wonderland by Tony Bennett
And may I just say? Uploading these buggers hasn’t been easy so see? Proof that I love you guys.
Also …
Are you attending the Coffee Chat party? Your entries don’t have to be true life, you can write a story, a poem, whatever inspires you. This party is all about you and encouraging you to write something fun for your blog.
Did I mention there are prizes?
And …
Don’t forget to enter your name for the two black bears in a canoe Bass Pro ornament. It’s WAY cuter than the picture. And you could write “from Write From Karen” on the back and every time you pulled it out, you’d remember me.
The day of giving thanks is over and all I can think is, thank God.
Now please, don’t get me wrong, my husband’s family is great, in fact, they are beyond great, they are all fantastic people – and I like all of them (and no, I’m not just saying that). And when we get together, we have lots of laughs and enjoy catching up on each others lives, but honesty? They intimidate the h-e-double-l out of me.
And I think it’s partly because they are successful, attractive, God-fearing (which by the way, the word “fear” is a mistranslation in the Bible; it’s actually “respect” in Hebrew [in some cases] so anywhere you see folks “feared” God in the Bible, they actually “respected” Him – so I’m saying they are all God-respecting Christians) people.
In essence, they seem perfect.
I know, I know, no one is perfect, I get that. The intellectual part of me gets that, but the emotional side of me doesn’t feel like I live up to their standards. Which is stupid, I know, because they would all tell you I was crazy for even thinking that …
but I do.
When I’m around them, I feel fat and ugly. I feel stupid and flawed. And I feel ridiculous for typing that out because I know what their reaction would be if they read that – incredulous. They are down-to-earth people who love God and are strong family units. They are simply people trying to make the best lives they know how for their families, and yet, I don’t feel totally relaxed around them.
Which is really stupid considering I’ve known these people for 21 years now. I’m not sure why I feel this way. I have nothing to be ashamed of – I love my husband and my in-laws have seen how happy I’ve made their son. Our boys are amazing, well-rounded people and again, my in-law family sees, and appreciates, this. And when compared to other families? We’re the freaking Waltons, people.
And maybe that’s why I’m intimidated. It’s hard to live up to that standard, I think. On the surface, everyone is happy go-lucky people and heck, maybe they really ARE that way. But I can’t help but wish someone would get angry, or just be a complete arsehole once in a while just to keep things grounded, you know?
Everyone is just a bit too happy.
And what sort of warped individual am I to wish they weren’t??
Geez, I wonder about myself sometimes.
As a result of my irrational feelings, I don’t eat as much as I would like to every Thanksgiving, in fact, I am usually pretty hungry when we get home. And I can’t tell you the number of years I’ve turned down the HUGE assortment of delicious pies my MIL makes every year simply because I feel self-conscious stuffing my face.
And I leave the gathering with a raging headache each and every year because I’m assuming the pressure of being the “life of the party” (which I’ve been called) is simply too much for me.
I don’t know, this is a bizarre area for me because I’m not usually intimidated by people. And my mother would say I care too much about how I look or how I’m perceived by people and I would have to agree with her. And yet, here we are.
Let’s move out of the self-analysis range and chronicle the day because this is a journal after all and given my POOR memory, I need to write this stuff down or I’ll forget about it next week.
My husband drove my car in order to pick Nanny and L. up. He was quite happy with this arrangement because he thinks my Pontiac Vibe handles like a go-cart and he’s always fancied himself a race-car driver.
Here’s a great picture of Nanny that my husband took:
(Isn’t she sweet? This woman helped me out in so many ways … I’ll have to write a vignette about her soon).
So, I ended up driving my husband’s F150 truck over there. *gulp* Yikes, his truck is HUGE compared to my Vibe and his leather seats are so slippery I was quite literally sliding from end of the truck to the other whenever I took a corner – it sort of freaked me out actually and I had to hide my fear of losing control from the boys.
We arrived right on time (noon) and took our salad and rolls in to contribute to the table already overflowing with food. The next fifteen minutes was spent saying hi, giving hugs (I’m not a huggie sort of person) and exchanging pleasantries. My brother-in-law said Grace and the husband and I promptly disappeared outside to allow the other 20 + people to get their food first.
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. In fact, it was unusually mild for this time of year. It was sunny and about 60 degrees with virtually no wind – ideal weather to eat outside. Plus, the inside of the house was a sauna and there were so many people that we felt claustrophobic.
My brother/sister-in-law have a little dog, I don’t know the breed, but her name is Lady. And she was the sweetest dog! She barked maybe twice (at me, no less because I talked baby talk to her) and she highly entertained the boys.
(Don’t tell the boys this, but I could see myself with this sort of dog – I truly loved her).
The line finally ran it’s course and the husband and I filled our plates. Well, he filled his plate, I stuck to small portions of several food items (again, no pie *sad face*). We ate outside, just me, the husband, our boys and their uncle whom they are fairly close to. I don’t know if the rest of the family thought we were being snooty by not eating with them, but it was so hot in the house and it was such a beautiful day – it just worked out that way.
After dinner, the family fired up Skype in order to talk to my niece is who currently doing missionary work in Hawaii.
(It was good to see her – I haven’t seen her since last Thanksgiving).
After that, my other sister-in-law brought out the games and we started playing a new game called “Pick” using Scrabble tiles. In essence, here’s how it works – everyone gets seven tiles, everyone turns the tiles over and frantically tries to use all of the tiles making their own individual word puzzle. Whoever uses all of their tiles first says, “pick” and everyone takes one tile from the pile. Then you try and insert that tile into your word puzzle. The first person who is successful in incorporating their tile says “pick” and everyone draws another tile. This goes on until there are no more tiles left and everyone counts up their points, deducting for any tiles not used.
I loved this game!! It was fast paced and super fun.
(I later found out that it’s based on the Bananagram game. Though I prefer the regular Scrabble tiles because of the harder letters being worth more points).
We then went on to play “Whoonu” (which my youngest nephew got a kick out of) and then “Last Word” which a guest of one of my nephews won.
In the meantime, we were highly entertained by my nephew tickling the ivories …
And all the while …
my husband ran around and filmed everyone and my father-in-law …
got some much needed rest.
I wish I had taken more pictures. Unfortunately, I always SAY I’m going to take a lot of pictures and then when the actual event is happening I chicken out and don’t.
I don’t know why I turn into this shy, awkward person whenever I’m around my family by marriage but I don’t like it – at all.
So, we can paste another Thanksgiving dinner in the memory book. And though I had a great time, I’m sort of relieved that it’s back to business as usual.
Write From Karen 