Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is clearly my favorite holiday for a number of reasons. Most importantly is the name "Thanksgiving." How simple but elegant; one word says it all. Around our house the past couple of years we don't need to say much but my very presence gives us all pause to reflect on what is but also what could have been. I am a very lucky man. I enjoy Thanksgiving for other reasons as well. It brings our family together (or in the case of this year, part of it) and we actually have a couple of days to relax, watch old videos, take long walks, sleep in (except me who is writing this at 5 a.m.), and enjoy the special banter that people who lived under the same roof for decades share. I enjoy the "stories" the best. "Gordon, tell us about that the Warsaw game when you were a junior when you finally got your chance to play and you delivered", "Ryan, what was it like to pitch against Lewiston is some of those critical games?", "Come on Mom, tell us, was Dad always like this?", "Lisa, how did you like 40 straight days of 100 degree temperatures in Austin?" and "Dad, how did you get so lucky to marry somebody like Mom and exactly when did you figure out how lucky you were?" Now, these are all true stories and we laugh and joke and then laugh some more.

I also love this holiday because we can forego all the hoopla of gifts. It's just family enjoying family. Gordon and I were in the car driving to Moline to pick up Lisa who was flying in from Austin, and we had two hours together in which I could answer his questions about my parents, how they met, their lives together, and special memories I have. You simply couldn't put a price tag on that ride. It takes 90 minutes to make the ride from Macomb to Moline, but it seemed like 10. To me, Thanksgiving tightens the family bond ever more securely. There is for once, more time for quality conversation, more time to explain the Paulsen/Taylor family stories and for our children, fill in the gaps about questions they have regarding how all this came about. It is stimulating, amusing, educational, reflective, and fun. Our "kids" love to visit Indian Trail and Diane and I are most grateful for that. For some reason, a visit here allows for complete decompression from the world of emails, I-phones, and the insidious Blackberry.

I never tire of the kids and their spouses being around. We have no agendas; fortunately, no old scars or family wounds to address, and we seem to have compatible personalities. Do you get it?? I am really feeling fortunate and lucky as I write this. What a hoot!! My kids and we are having a ball together. I want to shout out to Diane, "Diane, I told you we did a good job of raising our kids, isn't this fun?" but then I remember it is 5 a.m. on Friday morning. Gee, I suppose I should get dressed and run out to Wal-Mart but then I do hate to shop.

The weather here promises to be in the 60s today so we will no doubt engage in a game of "driveway basketball" which remains a family pastime but is a considerably less display of athletic prowess than it was in years past when we were younger and more limber. Diane will sit on the porch, take a photo or two (she remains the family archivist) and root for her sons against their dad. Not sure why it happens this way, but my guess is it is some sort of payback for my conduct on the court 30 years ago when I played the role of Vic Morrow in Bad News Bears or Robert Duvall in The Great Santini.

Pretty much there you have it EXCEPT for another of our major Thanksgiving blessings at 35 Indian Trail. That would involve the gourmet cooking and presentation by Diane Paulsen Taylor who, fortunately for her family, loves to cook and is extremely proficient at said endeavor. From turkey, with mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries, and rolls it is indeed a culinary extravaganza. This will be followed by a sumptuous prime rib on Friday night complemented by sour cream and cheese mashed potatoes and her famous pea and broccoli casserole. The boys and I express our gratitude for all this tender loving care by "doing the dishes." It is a sight to behold. There we are--three men, 65, 37, and 31, clearing off the table, loading the dishwasher, wiping off tables, washing the pots and pans, packaging up leftovers, and of course joking with each other all the way. Not sure why the big cleanup is fun, but we find a way to make it so.

Now, the weekend has not been perfect. We do miss the presence of daughter Jennifer and her fine family but we find solace in the reality that we will ALL rendezvous in Austin, TX, for a couple of days next month and celebrate an early Christmas. Take the Thanksgiving team and add Jennifer, John, and the grandsons (Luke 7, James 3, and Paul 6 months) and this should be a wild affair. This family dynamic is exponentially wild as Uncles Gordon and Ryan and Aunt Lisa think it is cool to shower their nephews with gift after gift after gift. Of course, this drives Jennifer crazy, "You're spoiling my sons" but what the heck, we don't all get together as often as we'd like, so a little excessive gift giving to the little ones is ok with all of us.

The Thanksgiving weekend will end on a melancholy note as it will require a ride to Moline to send Lisa and Gordon back to Austin and then Ryan will take the train back to Chicago. Diane and I will have happy tears in our eyes as we will be sad to see them go but look forward to our next adventure together. Yes, Thanksgiving, my favorite time of the year. Christmas is only a month away and we shall reunite soon--let the good times roll.