Just About Perfect

The question circulating around today is "How was your Thanksgiving weekend?" My answer: "It was just about perfect." Obviously, we can't achieve absolute perfection in this earthly experience; there are glitches. People don't always behave the way we think they should. We don't always behave the way we think we should. Life happens. Circumstances beyond our control change our plans, slow us down, force us to be flexible even when we don't want to be.

Even so, my Thanksgiving weekend was just about perfect.

The day before we left, the weather (one of those lovely circumstances that is beyond our control) seemed to deteriorate by the second. The forecast was for snowy, icy conditions in Billings, Bozeman, Idaho Falls, and Salt Lake City. Those of you familiar with this trip will understand that this is basically the entire route! All day people tried to scare me out of going. At least that's how it seemed. It could have been that they were just warning me to be cautious. Maybe they weren't really trying to talk me out of making the trip. Maybe it just seemed that way. In any case, by evening, I was ready to shoot the next person who asked me if we had 4-wheel drive. Because we don't. And there was no way I could just magically get it in the next 24 hours. And we were going, regardless. Two of my children were in Salt Lake City waiting for us. Bad weather or not, WE WERE GOING!

We prepared as thoroughly as we knew how, packing plenty of food and water, warm clothing, blankets, tire chains, even stuff to put on the ground for traction in case we needed to dig ourselves out of a snowy ditch. Wrapped in blankets, encouraged by Eli's sincere prayer for our safety, we left Billings at 5:15 am. By the time we passed Laurel, the temperature outside was -18. Nevertheless, we were on our way. Roads through Montana were mostly okay; Idaho was a different story. Fourteen hours later, we pulled into the parking lot of Isaiah's dorm where Shulamith met us. We made it!

How was my Thanksgiving weekend? It was just about perfect.

Thursday, we sank happily into R & R mode. Shulamith and Matt needed to go celebrate Thanksgiving with Matt's family. Eli and Seth stayed in Isaiah's dorm, and the three of them bonded over video-games. Gerald and I stayed at Shulamith and Matt's apartment and bonded over "Prison Break," my latest TV addiction (thank you very much, streaming Netflix).

Yep, just about perfect.

Then came Black Friday. Black Friday is seriously more important to me than Thanksgiving itself. It's a tradition that goes back a very long time, way back to when my grandma was alive. Shulamith and I have been doing Black Friday shopping together for at least the past 10 years, maybe more. This was our first year spending it in Salt Lake City, and it may very well be the best Black Friday we've ever had. I am not kidding. It was amazing. We began at Target where we warmed ourselves with cups of Starbuck's hot chocolate as we took full advantage of the many door-buster sales. After that we hit two different malls (not even possible in Billings!) where, one by one, we crossed off items from our Christmas shopping lists. Wow! Then, as is tradition, we treated ourselves to one item just for us: beautiful new boots from Macy's. Too tired to take another step, we met Matt at Cheesecake Factory for lunch at around 2:00.

How was my Black Friday? It was just about perfect.

Saturday was the day to cook Thanksgiving dinner. A couple of unnamed individuals (whose initials are E-L-I and S-E-T-H) had doubted that we could even make a good Thanksgiving dinner in Shulamith and Matt's tiny kitchen, but we proved them both wrong. We roasted a small turkey stuffed with delicious herb dressing, mashed potatoes by hand, and even made gravy from scratch. Complemented by pumpkin and banana cream pies from Marie Calendar's, the whole dinner was way YUM!

How was my Thanksgiving? It was just about perfect.

Even with the love of family all around (only Luke and Desiree and Evelyn were missing), there were the normal glitches, the stuff we remember through the years, the stuff we laugh about, the stuff that makes us human. One of those fun glitches occurred just as we were about to put the turkey into the oven. It occurred to me that maybe Shulamith didn't have the string I needed to tie around the bird in order to keep the wings tight, so the meat would not dry out. I was right. She didn't have string. Time to improvise. While she didn't have any string, she did have a string bikini top which she had never worn; she bought it for the bottoms, to wear with a more modest tankini top. Ha, what luck! We were able to pull that string right out of that bikini top and tie it right around that turkey.

Glitch #2 involved a research paper that needed to be written. As many of you know, I am a writing instructor. I teach folks how to write research papers. What do you think is the first rule of writing a good research paper? Yep, don't wait until the last minute and attempt to do it all in one sitting. Good papers need time to breathe. Authors need time to step away from their early drafts, so they can return with fresh eyes and fresh perspectives. No matter how many times I teach this concept, many of my students don't seem to believe me, AND APPARENTLY, NEITHER DO MY OWN CHILDREN! Eli had a 4-page research paper due Monday, and as of Saturday, he hadn't even begun. Well, that's not entirely true. He had identified his sources, but that's it.

Mom and sister to the rescue! We gave him note cards and instructed him to begin searching his sources for notes to use in the paper. Five note cards would be done before we would feed him Thanksgiving dinner. We're tough, yeah? Note cards complete, Shulamith helped him organize them around a solid thesis statement, and he was ready to make an outline. Finally, around 7 pm, he began to draft. Several of us went to a movie, but Eli stayed home and worked, along with Matt who also had homework. By the time we returned, 1/4 of the paper was written, a good enough start that we felt confident Eli could finish it on the ride home Sunday. That he did, reference page and all.

Glitches aside, my Thanksgiving weekend was just about perfect. Except for one thing. I missed seeing Lindsey not once, but in both directions. Driving down on Wednesday, the roads through Rexburg were too awful to attempt to navigate, so we were forced to take an alternate route. Coming back Sunday, I was determined to see her, so we did go through Rexburg, only it took us so long to get there that she was already headed to church. Ack! So I have this to say to the weather:

Dear Weather,
I am serious. You'd better lighten up on all this snow business by Christmas. Lindsey needs to come to Billings between Christmas and New Year's. She misses her family. They miss her. I miss her. This is not a joke. I am counting on you.
Love, Terrianne

How was my Thanksgiving weekend?

It was just about perfect.