Muddlin’ Around – 11/18/10

Muddlin’ Around by Karen Richardson

For the Love of Stuffing!
I’m looking forward to an excellent Thanksgiving. At first I thought it might be a little depressing to be away from family and not get together with friends, because we are slaves to our busy children’s sports activities and none of their coaches can plan ahead. Play-off game? Who knows! Practice the week of Thanksgiving? Maybe! However, in the grand scheme of the activities in our lives, our decision to lie low for the day and just be a family will be a good one.
When we have every family member together like this, we like to play board games. Last year it was Cranium. If you’ve ever played a game with fellow competitors ranging in age from two to 42, you know it will take a long, long, long time because you are required to look through boxes and boxes of questions for those that everyone will understand. For example, our children don’t listen to Quiet Riot, so a question about their songs won’t work. And my 11 year old didn’t know what a pipe dream was. Hmmm, does that mean he is spoiled?

I knew it would be a colorful afternoon when the 9 year old asked me if I’d ever been to a Hooters Restaurant. He was trying to gauge whether I would successfully be able to answer a question. (He had to draw a picture of buffalo wings, if you were wondering.)

It’s important to involve your kids in activities, from board games to shopping. Picking out a turkey can be fun and it’s never too early to learn what your dinner time poultry looks like before it becomes a dinosaur shaped nugget. This year I’ll be visiting the grocery store in a flurry with five kids hanging off the cart like flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz.  And me? Well, I’ll be the Wicked Witch of the West: “YOU, my pretty!” I’ll screech as we careen down the main aisle toward the dairy products. “Dispatch and bring me a bag of marshmallows AND NOT THE MINI KIND!” I’ll cackle and push the little creature off the cart with my gnarled finger. If he wants a ride home he’ll find me before I check out.

We’ll prepare all the side dishes and desserts the DAY BEFORE! Then we have the actual day of Thanksgiving open for games. Why did it take me 40 years to realize the beauty of this scheme? Oh, and having a 13 year old who loves to bake helps, a lot. And inviting unsuspecting friends over for decaf green tea and then putting them to work stirring bacon frying in butter for stuffing, also helps. Do you think there are enough antioxidants to stave off the artery clogging fats of stuffing in that cup of tea? Any bit helps, right?

Then, I will torture my children by making everyone write one nice thing they are thankful for about each person in the family and put them in paper lunch sacks. I always have the intention to turn the bags into turkeys, but usually just end up slapping cut outs of hands on the bag. Then, we’ll take turns reading why everyone is thankful for us between bites of dessert. I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving, too.