Food, Family, thanksgiving and a Shellback.

We had family over for breakfast.. all on my wife's side, as my side of our family lives too far away to come here. I made turkey bacon, pancakes and scrambled eggs, and served a big bucket of Kentucky Fried chicken, while Ruth added fruit salad and corned beef hash. Hello stomach!

Got a great phone call from my oldest son, his wife and our two grandkids down in Florida. Our 5 year old Grandson Hunter wouldn't get off the phone. I bought him a two foot tall robot warrior who talks like he's on steroids, walks like he just wet his robot pants, points a flashing pistol at anyone who passes by, which makes all sorts of B-picture science fiction sounds and has enough dettachable (and re-attachable) parts to keep a kid busy for several hours. Hunter had to have me listen to every threatening saying and weapon sound before I could get off the phone, and then he did the same thing for Ruth. He had totally ignored every present his parents had given him. He said to me, "Grandpa Jerry, I've wanted this present ever since I was four!"

His only competition for playing with the robot was from his Dad, who thought it was ultimately cool and wished I'd bought one for him when he was a kid. He's wanted one since he was four, too, and he's 34..

After breakfast, we all spread out around the house. I went downstairs and was Indiana Jones on my Playstation2 for awhile, until the slightly younger "kids" and our grandson on Ruth's side took over.
In the recording "studio" (read attached garage)a card game broke out with a soundtrack of rhythm and blues oldies from the fifties, and action resumed in the kitchen.

Just as I finished carving the turkey, we got a phone call from Col K, which completely blew us away! What a treat to suddenly realize that we were having a Mudcat Christmas, too.

Dinner was the usual turkey, stuffing, tossed and potato salads and three trays of lasagna I'd made the day before, along with barbequed meatballs, collard greens with smoked turkey, some more Kentucky fried chicken, and then apple pie, peach cobbler and a giant sheet cake with an edible photo of our grandson when he was inducted into the International Karate Hall of Fame (at the age of 12.)

Then movies down stairs, a long phone call to me Mum out in Wisconsin, several phone calls from family members who couldn't make it, more card games with the teenagers in the garage, gently blasting rock and roll on my stereo.

And finally, the exchange of presents... all of which were thoughtfully chosen and fully appreciated.

As family members left, they all had plates piled with lasagna to take home with them. When the excitement finally died down and Ruth and I had our own Christmas, we exchanged our gifts (which we both loved) put away the perishables, and retired into a tired embrace in bed and drifted off to sleep.

Oh yes... we stopped to give praise to God for the gift of his son, before saying grace (with all joining hands, including our Muslim sons who thanked Allah for being there, too.) In our famile, love and appreciation doesn't acknowledge denominations, or a lack of belief in God. It just flows.

Amen

Jerry