Thanksgiving 2010

We traveled to my parents’ house in Rhode Island for Thanksgiving this year. We flew Southwest and had an extremely uneventful journey.

We picked up the boys at school on Tuesday and headed for the airport. It would have been close, but our flight was conveniently delayed about forty minutes and we had plenty of time to eat and get through security. Security (and I know you all are hoping for a story here) took about five minutes. Very few people in the line in late afternoon and they had extra workers. Walked right through. None of us were selected for the super special security and simply had to go through the regular machines. I did get a slight pat down due to my bulky sweater, but the woman could not have been more polite. My hair got a quick check, too. No drama, nothing. A bit of a let down after watching the news.

We made up most of our delay time in the air and landed in Boston only a few minutes behind. And let me say something to Southwest here. Ditch your boarding process. I like having an assigned seat, I don’t mind sitting with my family, who cares if your system is more efficient than anyone else’s (or maybe you just think it is, it did not seem a whole lot faster to me.) Points though for having a bit of leg room. I did have a center seat, but since I could move my legs it wasn’t too bad. (Also had a good seat mate. It turns out she had lived in Washington, DC a year or two ago and it was good to compare notes. Happily, my favorite restaurant, El Tamarindo, is still there and the salsa is just as good as ever.)

Actual Thanksgiving dinner was awesome, turkey was good, lots of gravy and stuffing, green bean casserole (yes, the kind made with cream of mushroom soup and those canned onion ring thingees, yum, yum) and much more. My brothers were there with their wives and kids (two each) so it was a nice size gathering.

To those who love a good fight, no drama. I pat myself on the back for this because, really, I had to exercise great restraint when it turned out that my first-grade niece, Katie, not only loves the dark turkey meat (I'm used to having it mostly to myself), but also thinks that banana cream pie is the best dessert ever. The fact that I did not pull rank and snag the last piece for myself instead of allowing her and Harrison (my traitorous son) to eat it speaks volumes. (I am not a dessert person and only like banana cream pie and chocolate pie (which my mother did not make) which just highlights more of my self-sacrificing nature.)

Our return trip was a touch less grueling because we drove back to Newton, MA and stayed overnight with Laurence's brother, Ed, and his family. The next day we flew out of Logan in the early afternoon (again no lines in security) and made it home on time. Our trusty dog, Piper, was delighted to see us and proceeded to whine and yip and tell us all about her time with Karen (our friend who housesits while we're away) and the Goldens (Karen's two golden retrievers, Naia and Finn.) It's good to be welcomed home.