Wow! What a day Thanksgiving was around my house. What I expected to be a quiet, uneventful day was anything but!
I woke up at 7 a.m. to begin cooking. I was finishing up my early preparations, by hurriedly unloading the dishwasher. While trying to balance (too many) plates, one slipped from my hands and crashed onto the beautiful hand crafted glazed bowl, given to us as a housewarming gift by one of my dearest friends, shattering the bowl into pieces. I was hearbroken. Although I bravely told myself it was only a possession, my emotions won out as I cried out and burst into tears. It pained me deeply as I picked up the pieces and dropped the beautiful, meaningful work of art into the trash. My husband, Dennis, who came rushing into the kitchen to see what the commotion was all about, could only let out an understanding, "oh" when he saw what had transpired. Of course, it was all his fault you know. Never mind that I had thought earlier I should replace the beautiful bowl to the center of the kitchen table where it so proudly belonged, or that I could have set down some of the plates and used two hands, instead of balancing them in hand, while trying to put the others away. It was definitely HIS fault. Had he unloaded the dishwasher or at least been helping me instead of watching TV - I wouldn't have dropped the plate and broken our (MY) precious bowl.
After picking up the pieces, I headed off to the shower to sulk, and to get dressed before family arrived. Dennis, of course, had already returned to TV land. When he later came in to get dressed, I didn't waste the opportunity to share with him my conclusion. "You know it's your fault I broke the bowl." Before I could even explain my logic, he acknoweleged, "I know. I take full responsibility." Hmmm- I guess after 24 years of marriage, he had learned something. However, I still felt the need to explain the logic of my conclusion, to which he replied, "I had washed and dried the dishes in the sink. I didn't even think about the dishwasher." Just like man logic - if the dishwasher had been empty, then there wouldn't have been dishes in the sink, now would there. They would have been in the dishwasher! Now I have to take back the credit I gave him for learning something in 24 years of marriage.
Family arrived and dinner went off as planned without another major incident - at least until we were cleaning off the dining room table. Dennis came into the kitchen and told me he needed somthing to clean up mashed potatoes. I gave him a quizical look - wondering is he thought there was some magical mashed potato cleaner upper (now he's really lost all the credit I gave him earlier). I asked if someone had dropped potatoes under the table, to which he replied, "No, on the wall!) As I turned to get him a cloth to clean up the mess, I was met by my mom, carrying mashed potatoes wadded up in waxed paper. She had been carrying the bowl of mashed potatoes, along with other dishes, trying to balance them into the kitchen (so that's where I get that balancing thing - maybe it's partly her fault instead of all Dennis') and the mashed potatoes had tipped out of her hands and onto the wall, finally coming to rest on the floor.
As Mom headed back to finish cleaning up the mashed potato mess, and I turned to help her, I was sidetracked by the sound of glass crashing onto the floor in our sitting area, off of the kitchen. When I turned to look, there sat my dad with his feet on the bottom shelf of the coffee table, asking, "What did I do?" As he had put his feet on the shelf, he had scooted back a book into two crystal coasters which crashed onto the tile floor, sending glass shattering in all directions. The mashed potato fiasco would have to wait. There was a new, more urgent crisis. I now redirected and rushed to begin picking up glass slivers. With everyone's help, we were able to clean up all of the glass without a single injury. Dennis and I had started our marriage with four crystal coasters. Two of which, had survived 24 years, but none would make it to year 25. Oh well, two less things to dust around.
We finished with most of the kitchen clean up without another catastrophy, then retreated to the downstairs game room for a friendly game of cards and to watch football. We had just finished our card game when we heard an awful clatter coming from the kitchen upstairs. I was quite puzzled since everyone was downstairs. Well, almost everyone. Everyone, except our double trouble dog, Shasta! I sent Chad and my nephew, Kevin, up to investigate. Then came the shout, "Mom! You better come up here!" I couldn't imagine what the noise had been. I was met at the top of the stairs by Chad, who was dutifully scolding Shasta. As I rounded the kitchen island, there it was - the baking pan I had cooked the ham in, ham bone, ham juice and all - splattered all over the kitchen floor. Thank goodness the pan was aluminum. Here we go again! I mopped up the mess with dish towels, as my sister-in-law, Rhonda, rinsed them and handed them back for more mopping. My mom pitched in and mopped in places you couldn't imagine the mess getting to. So much for that great pot of beans with ham bone, I was envisioning. Oh well, at least no glass slivers.
Before long, my parents called it a day and head out for home. The kids, Rhonda and I settled down in the sitting room. Rhonda had gotten up and left the room, then appeared back in the doorway, with a strange look on her face, saying, "Kathy, you better come in here - there's something in the bathroom floor and I just stepped in it, in my socks!" Sure enough, there was a puddle of "something" wet in the bathroom floor. I grabbed the Clorox spray and paper towels and proceeded to clean up what I dearly hoped was the final mess of the day. As I finished cleaning up the puddle (which, I'm still not sure what it was, or how it got there, as none of us were brave enough to give it the smell test and certainly not the taste test, UGGHHH!) I just sat back in the floor and laughed - uncontrollable laughter! What a day! What a day indeed!
The Bible tells us to give thanks in ALL thing,
"[G]ive thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".
1 Thessalonians 5:18
So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I was...
Thankful that we have wonderful friends, who give us thoughtful gifts, even at the risk of me destroying them;
Thankful that no matter what messes I create or get into, I have wonder family to help me clean up the mess and pick up the pieces;
Thankful that my wonderful husband stands by me, even when I cast my blame on him.
Thankful that I have a God who loves, and all my messes, even when I could have prevented them.
Thankful for a Thanksgiving Day and all of its messes that I won't soon forget.
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