Thanksgiving

It's Saturday evening after Thanksgiving here in the kudzu grotto, and I'm just now giving the blog-o-sphere thanks that should have been posted on Thursday... mostly because I had nothing to really say then, and we were scheduled to have our family get together today, as I supposed, because it fit more handily within other family members time constraints.

I suppose I should have noticed that the amount of dressing that was prepared this morning was huge, but knowing the families appetites, nothing out of the ordinary. The locale had been changed from everyone coming over the river and through the Deep Dark Woods to Grandma's house to the eldest daughter's house. That in it's self wasn't anything to wonder at, as with the number of people the family has grown to, what with the in-laws and out-laws the additional space there would make the whole thing more convenient, not-with-standing the nearly hour long drive to her house.... so in my usual way of just complacently complying with the wife's wishes, I thought nothing of that either.

Suspicions could have been raised when, while en-route, a phoned request for us to stop by the old Harbins Community Center to help the eldest grandson out with his stalled truck was received.

Hey, even though it was seemingly in good shape.....it was a couple years old when he got it for Christmas, and seeing as how Big Red my own loco-motive steed of Dodge Ram fame was making weird noises yesterday with the result that a trip to the local grease pit was scheduled for a complete brake job and possibly front wheel bearing replacement, I just blithely assumed some minor help was needed on his truck.....after all it is a Chevy....pre-government model and all.
....I mean come on......it's a Chevy.

In due course arriving at said location and seeing his hood up....I paid no real attention to the other cars in the parking lot. Then when he came out and said that some old friends from years ago were having their Thanksgiving there and would we like to come in an say hello to the lady who babysat him as a toddler......still my radar was blank (reflects the general interior of my brain-pan), until I walked through the door and I saw all the family including Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and more who all yelled .... "Happy Birthday...Surprise".

Knock my scrawny ass over with a feather!

Almost a month early they had sprung a surprise on me.....leaving me looking like the proverbial Deer-in-the-headlights.

Flummoxed does not begin to describe me mental state at the moment. But due to my generally rapid firing neurons I was able to maintain an upright position, and with the help of good genes.. avoiding a heart attack, I was able to stumble around shaking hands and hugging folks I'd not seen since either the last funeral or family reunion which ever was last.

So tonight I'm sitting here reliving the last half a day and considering just how unbelievably blessed I am to have family who came from far and wide to help me usher in the 60th decade of what I can only hope to be a long and healthy life. (My goal is still 192 years, regardless of Obam-o-care)

My most profound thanks go out to my sisters, my daughters and son, my darling wife, and all of the aforementioned.....for the best combination Thanksgiving and Birthday a guy is likely to ever have.

Thanks also to a provident Creator who has allowed me to remain topside the earth for this long, cause you'll know it's gonna be a bad day when you hear them spading the dirt down upon you.

And the food was good.