I am not necessarily a fan of David Letterman, but I am totally a fan of lists. So in honor of this Thanksgiving season, I am offering my own weird list of ten things that make me totally delighted to go home for the holidays.
10. Riding in the snowy night through Western Pennsylvania, no longer scary to me because I KNOW it’s Obama country now, listening to my new favorite Brazilian singer, Mariana Aydar, and hearing the soft snoring of “the guys” as I drive.
9. Having my brother call at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, asking for an ETA (estimated time of arrival) in Chicago, because everyone else is already there.
8. Not being able to drive up 51st St. for the first time in 20 years, because the Secret Service has cordoned off 51st St. from Woodlawn to Drexel in order to PROTECT MY PRESIDENT AND HIS FAMILY. Hallelujah! Go Chi-Town!
7. Arriving to the sounds of my boisterous family, the smells of sweet potato pie and baked spaghetti and greens that I can eat RIGHT NOW, not Thursday.
6. Sleeping late and waking up to the laughter in the kitchen as my mother and sister and nieces wrestle with the turkey. (I’m not a cook; I’m The Clean-Up Woman, with only a few apologies to the song of the same name!)
5. Soaking in my mother’s amazingly deep claw’s foot, cast-iron bathtub for a whole hour before the rest of the family descends on us. (God, I miss long, hot baths!)
4. Answering the yearly rash of questions from my sons about who all those people are who keep showing up and how they are related to us, and greeting all my long-lost cousins and their husbands and wives and children and realizing that, even though I don’t come home more than twice a year, they know PRECISELY who I am.
3. Watching and smelling all the last-minute preparations that my sister makes because my mom’s hands no longer have the strength to hold the pots or fix the food, even though she still has opinions.
2. Getting to do the prayer as my sister and my brothers and their children and my children and my husband and everyone else hovers over a table so filled with food we can’t eat it all on the first go-round. (But we all know Brays and McNatts and Broadnaxes never stop eating!)
1. Being well, being happy, being alive, being together with the people who don’t care at all about how much or little I make, or what church I serve, or what people think of me. Being with the folks for whom I am always and forever, “Ro.” Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
