Happy Thanksgiving

I am very blessed with a delightful family even if we can't see each other as often as we would like, wonderful friends who bring me joy, the fortunate position that our jobs are relatively secure, that we live in a country that is doing pretty well with respect to keeping our people safe, and that we have become more aware of those segments of society that are NOT kept safe and we are trying to rectify that. I am hopeful that the awakening that has accelerated during these times of forced introspection continues and is a lasting legacy to the younger generation. 

We had a great Covid-Thanksgiving. Although we were unable to visit with our family, we had a delicious outdoor Thanksgiving dinner with our Toronto bubble on Saturday afternoon. Lots of food, conversation, and music. 

David was super excited for outdoor Thanksgiving. No pants or shoes but he did have his mask!

On Sunday we enjoyed a socially distant visit in the backyard. We opted to order in dinner from a local restaurant as a show of support for small businesses that must shut down with very little notice and full freezers! Cumin Kitchen provided a feast that the whole family enjoyed.

On the holiday Monday we arrived just before 9am at Rouge National Park for an 8.5km family hike.

 

Chris was dressed for adventure!

I was very thankful that we got to the park before 9am. By the time we left, the trails were crowded enough that masks were a good idea and there was a traffic jam looking for parking!

Gobble, gobble

Canadian's are discriminated against abroad. There are no turkey's in October. The butcher will tell you that it is too early in the season for full sized turkeys. Turkey season begins in November....for the Americans. But, if you order in advance, it is indeed possible to have a full sized turkey for Canadian thanksgiving.

This year we joined new-comers to Geneva for Thanksgiving. As guests instead of hosts I once again put my turkey-making skills on hold until Christmas. Instead I tackled pumpkin pie for the first time, including made from scratch pie crusts also for the first time. If I do say so myself, it was perfect and delicious! I ate far too much food, but I feel very little guilt, it was thanksgiving after all!

There were 5 kids in total, a baby, 2 girls who are 3 years old, and then my two. I have to say that I was très impressed with my little darlings. Okay, Michael ate nothing but the cherry tomatoes, but I expected that. Lucas on the other hand actually tried everything! I was floored. Veggies, stuffing, turkey, wow. I think he is growing up.

The petite hostess was too excited to stay at the kids table, but the other three managed to keep their bums in their chairs for most of the meal. Once the meal was coming to an end, Michael asked to be excused to go and play and I gave him the go-ahead. A few minutes later he was calling from the playroom, his button had gotten caught on the rug and he was stuck. On my way back to the table I realized, guiltily, that Lucas was still patiently sitting at the kids table all alone. I told him he could get down and play and he hesitated. It was clear. He wanted to try the pumpkin pie and was not going to jeopardize his chances by premature playing! The little darling. I reassured him that he would still indeed get some dessert and he left to play with the rest of the kids. It is mind boggling how every once in a while they decide that a rule must be followed to the letter, whereas usually most rules are viewed as recommendations.

Our friends have a house. With a backyard. And a driveway. This is practically unheard of amongst our normal circle of friends. Michael was in 7th heaven riding the Little Tykes little red car up and down the driveway, then the Barney motorcycle, then the Finding Nemo ride-on toy. Repeat ad nauseam. While all the other kids were playing inside, Michael kept requesting to go outside, all alone, and zoom up and down the driveway. I panicked at one point as I realized that it had easily been 15 minutes and he hadn't been heard from. I looked outside and it was definitely dark. I ran to the door. He was still going up and down the driveway happy as a clam. In my limited defense, the back yard is completely fenced and there is a security gate blocking the driveway.

We made it home only an hour late for bedtime. Nevertheless, we paid for the routine disruption on Monday. Perhaps I should say that the school paid for it, and Chris paid for it. I was spared the bulk of the consequences sequestered away at work.