NaBloPoMo Day 24 – A Lot To Get Done And We Aren’t Even Hosting This Year

Herb’s Blog, Herbdate 22572 – 885

Here’s the haps:

Due to Mrs. Herb’s and Daughter Dynamite’s (her initials are TNT) health struggles, we’d decided to change our Thanksgiving routine. Normally, every year for the last forty-ish years, with only a few exceptions, we celebrate Givethanksing Day at our house with turkey and all the trimmings, homemade pies, and fun and fellowship. The whole tribe is here which accounts for between twenty-five to forty people with kids of all ages running around, getting underfoot, having fun outside, doing those things kids do at such gatherings. And while the occasional disagreement has occurred over the years they are resolved amicably with the general conversation light and fun and often turning toward the Lord and His many blessings.

Anyway, when Mrs. Herb and Daughter Dynamite get to cleaning for such a gathering it is in detail and in-depth, and not just any old thing is good enough.

Mr. Herb: These people are coming to see you, not your house.
Mrs. Herb: The house has got to be clean.
Mr. Herb: But…
Mrs. Herb: Get to work…

Yes, it involves us all and it has to be right. And not just anybody can come over and get it right. Oh, they might know how to clean their own house, and that’s fine, but they don’t know how she likes it done. Well, Daughter Dynamite does and is just the same as her mother. Except their energy and strength just aren’t there this year so we asked adopted son and daughter-in-law to host this year’s Givethanksing and asked son Ben and his wife to do the Christmas festivities this year.

“Wait a minute, Herb. I don’t think I knew you had ever adopted children.”

Well, we adopted him when he was a full-grown man with a wife and children. That’s one way you get in the tribe. You just say something like, “We don’t have any real family ties and our kids don’t have contact with their grandparents…” and then you are in the tribe and we treat you like family, for both the good and bad that that means. You’re family. Another way is to cultivate a friendship with one or more of us, which can be difficult because we are (with some notable exceptions) a family of hard-core introverts. Or you can just start showing up when we have something going on. There’s always room for one more at events we have or stuff we do. Or send your kids. But I warn you, once you are in the tribe, it is hard to leave. We take it seriously that you want to be one of us and we love you as much (maybe more?) as if you were natural-born into the family.

Anyway, that’s also how we wind up with between twenty-five and forty-plus people. Son Ben does the same thing and if you happen to be in one group you are likely to wind up in both. So, tomorrow will be a new beginning, and even so, just preparing our contributions was a lot of work.

But we are thankful and it was worth it. And this is still my attitude: