Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!

We had our first-ever Thanksgiving with just the three of us. Since we'll be travelling over Christmas, we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. I thought about Ben's three past Thanksgivings: the one when he was in utero and had, much to my relief, stopped causing nausea just in time for me to eat the big dinner; his first year, when he had just started solids and was able to have a taste of food; and last year, when we went to Chicago to visit my aunt and uncle and he ate mostly applesauce. I felt a pang when I called home and talked to my family. They had just finished their dinner and were about to move on to pumpkin and apple pie. Maybe someday we'll be rich enough to fly home for a long weekend.

Instead of rushing about madly to visit people, though, we slept in. Ben at long last was able to watch "the big things on TV" (aka the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade), while Tom jogged to the Y for their "Work Out Before You Pork Out" program.


Then we walked over to the football field to see the kickoff of the traditional Turkey Day game between the Webster Groves Statesmen and the Kirkwood Pioneers. It was perfect weather for football: 60 degrees and sunny. When we got to the field, I realized our faux pas: We had dressed Ben in a red windbreaker, which is the color of rival Kirkwood. A steady stream of people headed to the field; around here, the game is a Big Deal. After we saw Webster score the first touchdown, we headed home for Ben's nap (which he declined).


In the afternoon, we went to the City Diner for their all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving dinner. Ben ate mostly cranberry sauce.


He was also enthusiastic about the pie.


As we drove home, we listened to Christmas music. A crescent moon hung in the clear sunset sky. Ben kept singing along to "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" even after the CD moved on to the next song. Not a bad Thanksgiving, after all.