I’m one of those people who counts her blessings all the time. A family gathering for me hasn’t happened since I lived in Chicago and I left in 1957. Jay and I would annually go to our dear friends on Staten island. That was Pete and Mike (Pete was the mom) and their four children. They’re all gone now, except for one daughter. My immediate family is gone, and my mom’s sister, Auntie Emily. Two of her kids still survive and I am in touch with them, but they’re in Illinois.

Ed and I played it safe so we chose not to go to a dinner at Jean’s house that we usually do every year. I am not a fan of making an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner but it means a lot to Ed so I do it. It makes up for his early life devoid of the family he should have had instead of the one he got stuck with. I admit, when I hear his stories, that it wasn’t an easy ride, but I think hanging on to a negative past is a no-win. I live with an adult male who suffers daily the indignities of being 12 and helpless.

Sol had the day off from her nurse job, and we heated a cooked turkey from the market, made stuffing, sweet potatoes and mashed regular potatoes and the orange-cranberry relish the market has is really good. I stripped our smaller dining table of Ed’s work product, his car keys, his supplements, his latest mail, the box cutter, paper clips, etc., etc., newspapers, and put a table cloth on, and the special Egyptian placemats from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that my very dear late friend, Penny, got for me when she visited. It was lovely. Ed’s contribution was to enjoy the dinner.

Sol and I cleaned up in stages. It’s amazing how much mess accumulates from such a dinner. And then we streamed one of her favorite movies, “How to Steal A Million” with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole, two of the most charismatic and charming actors of all time. And it’s a hilarious movie. I highly recommend it.
So this morning, Sol woke me when she texted me at 5 a.m. that she was leaving for work. I answered in a semi fog and asked her to put the trash out. 10 minutes later she texted me again from the road, zounds, she forgot the trash. I said, no worries, I can do it. Then she texted me again (I didn’t mention that I was trying to get back to sleep). Finally the texts stopped and I was wide awake.

Ed is off to the Toyota dealership because they’re after him to trade in his 2017 Highlander for a new model. He says he probably won’t do it, the deal has to be fantastic, he doubts it will be. He asked if I'd like to go but I was with him when he bought the Toyota and I said not this time. He drives such a hard bargain that I was embarrassed. Who is that masked man? So he'll come home with or without a new car. Oh, the suspense.

Sol is at the hospital, and I am alone. So I will play the piano without interruptions for the next three hours. Yes, this is a good thing.

xx, Teal