Thanksgiving morning.. all is quiet.

As I sit here in the morning darkness...the TV on in the back round, the fire crackling..ooops, wait...it went out, be right back. OK, ( cue sappy music ) the fire crackling in the back round... I sit here waking up with a cup of coffee steaming under my nose. Mentally going over the things I need to do to get Thanksgiving dinner ready. OK, ok, wait a minute. Its not all that "romantic" REALITY CHECK HERE! I crawled out of bed, my hair going crazy , achy and sore....barely made it to the potty before I wet myself. Stumbled to the kitchen... oh crap!! What a mess! Our daughter and son in law came in last night around 11 pm. I was just finishing up the baking.. so we sat down and chatted until well after midnight. I crawled into bed leaving the kitchen a mess! UGH! Got the coffee going....steal a cup and stumble to the computer. The fire had gone out, so I grumbled as I went over to get it going, only to see it was FULL of ashes, so I dug out the little block in the bottom that opens to the ash drawer underneath, get it out, only to find out that the ash bucket is full! UGH! Now I have to take the ash drawer out back and dump it in the metal trash can we have to hold ashes. *insert MUCH grumbling* Never fails.... as I go to empty the drawer into the can, the wind kicks up....covering me in a nice layer of ash...first thing in the morning... gotta love it.. NOT! Shaking off the ashes, back inside, clean out the wood stove and got a fire going. There... now that's better. I am going to sit here and drink my coffee.. then head to the kitchen and tame that beast... get the kitchen cleaned so I can get it dirty again getting that bird ready. I like to start with a " clean slate" Hoping by the time I get the kitchen cleaned, my daughter will be up to help get that tom in the oven. Breaking bread, cutting onion and celery, getting it stuffed and in the oven. Later today our daughter in law will be here with the 3 grand kids for dinner. Our son works retail so he will not be here. He has to work 9 am until 9 pm. I really wish the stores were all closed today so everyone could be with their families and friends. I always get a little melancholy on Thanksgiving. I miss the days when the kids were smaller.... and we had all 4 of them here. I always put up one of those 8 ft long folding tables in the dining room, just to hold the sweets I baked. I used to bake for days! Apple pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate creme pie. Then the cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter, butter cookie cutouts iced in colorful icings.. there would be pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, home made peanut brittle, buckeyes, Russian tea cakes. What a spread! The busy morning preparing the big feast... kids running in and out stealing bites of this or that... putting the leaf in the big dining table to hold the big feast.Yes, I miss those days. Now, the kids are grown, they have married and started their own families. All but one have moved far away. We struggle to fill the house now on Thanksgiving. However now we have the grand kids. So after the feast is cleaned up and put away, we will drag out the Christmas tree, and put it up. Making new memories with the grand kids...new traditions. Eventually Thanksgiving dinner will be done at one of their homes... and we will go feast with them, watching them make new memories...and new traditions. I wish you all have a great Thanksgiving...make memories that last...enjoy your family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.