The Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving has become for me “the Feast of the Fools”. No matter whether we have celebrated Thanksgiving with my in-laws or if I have cooked for my own family, I will again be cooking a huge feast. Am I a fool? You tell me….

The celebrants of said feast are my extended family of ‘lost boys’. Three of them have mothers with issues, ranging from drug abuse, alcoholism or severe depression. None has ever truly acted as a mom very consistently and this is where I have always been there to step up. Others of the boys are just visiting home for the holiday and they are spending time with the group. This year, Babygirl is bringing along her young man.

This is what I am doing today. I am busy, busy, busy. I have a turkey in the oven. Rolls are ready to go. Sweet potatoes are waiting to be warmed. All the fixings are in their dishes. The table is set. The cooler is prepared for the boys to chill their beer.

Big boys. Big appetites. Tons of testosterone. Tons of laughter.

Yes, they are my fools. They will storm into my home like locusts and pick everything clean. But they will also bring along silly jokes, and lots of foolishness.

And they’ll pick me up off the floor with their warm embraces.

And that’s why I do it.

Let me loosen my pants  *ziiip*

AHHHH!  That’s much better.

So did anyone else overeat like a motherfucker?  Jeez! I think I gained back every single one of the fifteen pounds I’ve lost! The food, family and friends were wonderful and I hope you all had an opportunity to share the same with your families.

So…SIL asked that we be there by 4-ish for dinner. Of course, her own brother and his slow-ass boys didn’t get there until almost five. I hate when they do that. Every occasion I have to tell them be there by two (Knowing full well that they won’t be ready until 3:30!) But I think that’s why she said three. She’s a smart one!

I didn’t make a turkey.  Two of Hubs’ sisters made them.  Unfortunately…..Son2 started picking at the buffet before anyone was ready and entered the kitchen with a slice of turkey in his hand. In his booming whisper of a voice, he asked the family seated at the table, “Okay, Who let Aunt D cook a turkey?” (Aunt D has never made a moist turkey in her life!) OMG! She was right behind him and slapped the back of his head! We gasped and then laughed so hard! (Aunt D will now be giving up that honor….unless for some outrageous reason, we end up having Thanksgiving at her house!) Everyone ate Aunt J’s turkey and Aunt C’s ham. No one touched D’s (except I think I saw her hubby take a pity bite or two)

Cookies,pies, cake and my own huge bowl of Ambrosia were on the dessert menu. (Now that I think of it, if any of that ambrosia is left, I want leftovers!!)

My niece’s one month old baby was the center of attention. That is one stinky-farty baby!! but oh so very cute. And that new baby smell? It rivalled any aroma coming from the kitchen! Son1 (who never holds a baby under three months old), held his cousin and looked very much at ease. I think an engagement is in the works for one of Metalmom’s boy!  SQUEEEEEE!

One niece wrote an essay at school about how the holidays have changed now that her grandparents are both gone. It was brought out and passed around. Of course, everyone cried, but they were good tears. We were all surprised by the gifted writing. No one knew she was capable of it.

Yes, we celebrated with new life, mourned those gone, and made all new memories for the present and future.

It was a wonderful holiday for us.

This post was originally posted last year and it still contains the things I am happy for. I wish all of you a happy and safe holiday with people that you love and who love you in return.

This is my happy place……

I am thankful for all of my family. I am happy that even though I bitch about having my sons living at home with me, at least they are living AT HOME with me rather than in a tent or barracks somewhere that I cannot reach them to tell them how I much I love them. And I am thankful to all the other mothers and sons and daughters who HAVE made this sacrifice.

As much as I bitch about parents and siblings, I do love every one of them with every beat of my heart. And I feel grief for every one of you who have experienced a loss-particularly those who will spending the first Thanksgiving without someone dear to you.

I am thankful to still have a husband after 28 years. He has stood by me when I was sick, and healthy, and at this point in his life…when he has a teenage daughter AND a wife going through ‘the change’-he has not run screaming for the hills!! I am thankful he is not a drinker, an addict, a gambler, a ‘playah’ nor an abuser. I was lucky to get the cream of the crop.

I am thankful that I have a daughter that any parent would be proud of having. She doesn’t drink, smoke, swear or hang out with skanky people. She gets good grades, holds down a job and has a boyfriend who is also a wonderful person and who respects her and treats her like a princess.

And I am thankful for all of you…My friends….on both sides of my monitor. You have visited on Monday Moanings when you KNOW I will be a bitch. You have offered comfort when I have felt low and you have shared in my happinesses. We have chatted on and off line and some have shared a cup of tea (or coffee) and I can’t wait to meet more of you.

I hope that all of you will remember to appreciate all that you have in front of you and give thanks for the times that you did have with those who are absent this year.

I love you all…….Now go get stuffed!

This is an emergency!!!

I have to write this post for a VERY serious reason!…..A CONTEST! Yes, Avitable is having a contest.

I have never wanted to win anything so bad in my life!! The collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (only the best show in the whole wide world to me!) is the prize….my Holy Grail!  I can quote many lines and remember many of the episodes word for for word.

Seriously, for the fans out there…remember:

 ”Bored Now.” ,”Randy Giles?! Why not just call me Horny Giles? Or Desperate-For-a-Shag Giles?”  or  ’Kiss Rocks’? Why would anyone want to kiss– oh, wait.. I get it.” or what about The musical “Once More With Feeling”? (Brilliant Television.) Joss Whedon is a god!

My personal favorite with a creep factor of 10,000, is ” Hush”. Mostly silent, this episode featured the tall creepy “Gentlemen” who were like mimes…..AHHH! They would suck the life out of their victims after stealing their voices, thus rendering them unable to scream. I think it was the silence of the performance that does it for me.

Yes, I am a huge fan and I wanna win this contest BAD! So bear with me as I say….

HEY ADAM!!! PICK ME!!!! PLEASE!!!!

The other night, while visiting Blondefabulous, she reminded me of couple of kids that used to live next door to me. God, those kids were awful!

They were the kind of kids who would ‘ding dong ditch’ all.day.long. They were the same age as Son1 but they were bullies. They and all of their friends would taunt Son1 and his two of his buddies all the way home from school every day. If anyone ever went straight to their mom, her response was always “Boys will be boys.”

I used to hate that woman.

Looking back, I realize that all that time I was seeing the situation as the mom of “the picked-on kid”. Looking back, I realize that she was simply too tired. She was a divorced mother of three demon kids. She was going to school at night and worked in a hospital all day. Does that excuse her? No, but now I can sympathize.

There was a small ledge that ran the length of my front porch. These kids would climb on it and make faces at me through the window. They would scream up an down the shared steps while the babies in my care were napping. THUD, THUD, THUD all.day.long.

The day they moved was one of the happiest of my life.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I ran into the mom in my local supermarket. Now she had a new man, a new house and also two new grandkids. We were pleasant to each other but we still couldn’t get away fast enough.

Last night, at the same supermarket, I ran into her again. This time, I said hello and she came around the checkout line to hug me. “OMG! It’s been forever! How the hell have you been?”

Holy shit! She was acting like we were best friends. She asked about my kids. I asked about hers. She was sorry to hear that Dad had passed this summer. I was happy to hear that her ‘career-driven’ daughter now had two girls. We shared the tidbits we knew about the other neighbors.

We blocked the aisle while we gossiped. (LIKE RUDE-ASS FUCKERS!!! But it was okay. Hardly anyone was in the store.) We were there for nearly twenty minutes!

It’s funny how different things can be when the circumstances are changed.

It’s also funny that I had been thinking about her and her kids only four hours earlier!

• Well, I texted my sister. I got no acknowledgement that she received it or that she cared. I’m not holding my breath.
• Tomorrow is the last of our Tuesday shots. YAY!! You may all clap now.
• I finally remembered to do something right! Instead of makng a large meatloaf, I made two small ones and froze one. When Son2 saw the size, he asked “Why’d you only make one meatball?” When Hubs and Son2 saw it, they said “What the fuck?” So I told them to go eat fucking peanut butter and jelly.
• As I write this, there are bullets along the margin.  Each will be nicely spaced. I will hit the “publish button” and they will mysteriously disappear. Magic? Maaaaaybe…..
• Yesterday, Hubs and I took a ride. At one point we were discussing music. “Radio or CD?” I asked. He replied that he really didn’t care. “I don’t listen to music as often as you would think I do.” So I said,”Hmm…you fast forward through movies, so you don’t really ‘do’ movies. You don’t ‘do’ music. You only skim the newspaper so you don’t ‘do’ reading. What exactly do you do?”  His reply? “I just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming….”*

*Didja get the reference? I hope so. I laughed my ass off until I couldn’t breathe anymore!!

Today is jGrrl’s birthday. (You’d better go and say Happy Birthday!)

Last night, I realized that “Hey! I have limes in the fridge!”. That thought was followed by “Ooh!! I even have thirty year old tequila!” Hmmm…..sounds like a plan…

I was also hanging out on Facebook and began to chat a bit with jGrrl and I sent her something for her birthday and she said that she was having a drink herself. And according to her, it was like we were drinking together. (Wow, that sentence ran on a bit. LOL I guess the shots is kicking in!)

ANYhoodles…Here’s to you jGrrl! Happy birthday, Feliz Cumpleanos, and all that fun stuff!  <

Today is a great day.

I woke up with a warm puppy. My Hub’s hand was warm on my breast as we snuggled up like spoons. Eventually, he got up and ready for work. The boys left. Babygirl left. I turned on the television to catch the news before getting out of bed.

Snow showers. Yes, that’s what the weatherdude called it. Oh they’ll just blow right through and easy peasy, no problems. I got up, and dressed. I put on Bandit’s jacket and my own and stepped out for his morning pee.

We had full-on snow. Bandit can’t find grass and therefore, he cannot poop. I’m currently waiting for him to figure something out. I had to sweep the walkway because the kids were still coming.

The air was cold but not too bad. (Thanks to Dave, my head was hugged by an artificial duck!) I love it like that.

I love my neighborhood in the snow. The traffic alongside my house is muffled to a “shuuusshh” as the cars roll through the intersection. I can’t see the leaves all over my yard. And the trees which have been nearly an eyesore due to the lack of leaves are arrayed in white glory. This, my friends, is the best part of living in area full of trees. Nothing is ugly. All the scars are erased.

And since everyone is at work, I can stand at my door, cup of coffee in hand, and watch the flakes fall.

Until I walk out the door again……

Then I will  be the flake that is falling.