So it's said that mom's are supposed to be able to make everything better; kiss all the boo boos away, band aid the cuts, wipe the tears away, cure the common cold, and turn a rainy day into a sunny day and stop all the bad hurts.
This is a family that thrived on holidays. Any holidays and all holidays were always celebrated to the fullest in this house. Right down to Valentines Day, and St. Patricks Day when Mom was sure that no one would leave the house without wearing green and carrying a lucky shamrock in their pocket. Now, Thanksgiving was approaching and this year, that day would go unnoticed for the first time ever. Not a turkey to be cooked, no pies in the oven, no friends or relatives would show up and it would be just another day. This year, the boy that would light up any room would be so very missed, that the family could not bear an empty place at the table. That boy was in heaven.
Each year they would host Thanksgiving dinner for any relatives that could make the trip and anyone else who would be friends of the boys that had no families, no parents, no sense of belonging to anyone anywhere. There would be a lot of noise, everyone laughing, confusion, spilled drinks on the tablecloth, much inappropriate behavior but so much fun for so many people. But this year, no one was going to show up and they'd be alone, they knew it, and dreaded it. They decided it would be best to ignore it and treat it like any other day. Without their other son, they didn't want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Eve morning, mom woke up to hear the usual weeping of his younger brother in his bedroom. After listening to the sobbing for a good 10 minutes, she knew that it was time to come up with a plan and intervene. So mom gained entry, bounding into the room, and attacking the younger brother in his bed hollering "it'tickle time" as she tickled the heck out of him until he turned his tears into giggles. She then instructed him to get up and get dressed because they were going shopping. Maybe it was a bad idea she thought, to try to carry on a tradition with their family so incomplete and sad, but something had to give and so they went.
The first stop was at the house of the older brother's girlfriend. They usually would stop by her house while passing through town for a hug. She gave good hugs and seemed like this Thanksgiving Eve morning, she needed hugs badly too. She was going to become part of the family. This Christmas, she would have become engaged to marry the older brother. They found the ring he had been keeping for her with her name on it and notes of his intentions. So she was already family in their eyes and always would be very special to their hearts.
The next stop was to pick up the younger brother's buddy who was crazy. They had to bring him along because they knew he'd be good for a few laughs and he surely was. This kid was considered the "King of Gross" in mom's book and he lived up to that expectation very well while drewling in the back seat of her truck for some 40 miles for no apparent reason other than him telling her "Hey, I'm just a stupid teenager".........agreed. The boys wanted to stop by the big mall for a little while, most likely to try to pick up girls while the mom window shopped. The older brother had taught the younger brother that the best way to pick up girls was to stand in front of Victoria's Secret and look like a nice guy, but the younger brother had never tried it without him until now. So, Mom gave her instructions to her younger son that if he was going to be hitting on girls in the mall, to be sure they had their shots and had all their teeth and were not on any Wanted posters at the post office and definitely not to touch anybody. She was happy that at least he was finally laughing. It was agreed, so off they went in their separate directions.
The Mall was quiet on Thanksgiving Eve morning. Apparently all the shoppers were waiting for Black Friday to shop. Even Santa Claus had no customers and there he sat on his throne with his two elves looking quite bored. Mom didn't really want to window shop so she sat on a bench by Santa's Elves who began to strike up a conversation with her but she didn't want to talk to anyone. Then the elves decided that moms need to speak to Santa Claus too and told mom to come and talk to Santa who was motioning for her to come and asked her what she wanted. He gave her a large candy cane but she told Santa no, that he couldn't fulfill her wish and bid him and the elves goodbye and left the mall hiding her tears and waited for her son and his friend in the parking lot. They arrived after a while, with no girls and no phone numbers for girls with the excuse that it was "slim pickins." She wondered if the friend had quit drewling...........
Later off they went to Walmart to buy a turkey. Mom decided that they were going to have a turkey and all the trimmings after all. The younger son always was in charge of picking out the biggest turkey he could find every year, and clean it and prepare it for the oven. He loved the part about pulling out the body parts and describing it in gross details for everyone every year till they all would turn blue and want to hurl. This year, he selected a mere 16 pounder. The shopping continued until the shopping cart was full of food for a Thanksgiving feast, including a ton of unsolicited but very necessary junk food.
Thanksgiving Morning arrived and right on schedule and following family tradition the younger brother prepared the turkey while mom cooked up a storm, and everyone watched the Macy's Day Parade. Mom would go nuts every year when she would see the "real" Santa who would be at the end of the parade and every year she would cry, cry, and cry tears of joy at the jolly man and convince her boys that the Macy's Santa was the one and only true, real Santa. She had believed this her entire life, so of course her children believed it too. So true to form, here came Santa on the screen and she hollered for her boys to "LOOK, there he is", and then felt so bad when she turned around realized that there was only one boy in the living room.
Then, somewhere along the line mom forgot about the pies in the oven and the smoke alarm went off and the kitchen and living room filled with smoke. She opened the kitchen windows and went to place the pies on the window sill but missed, and the pies went flying out the window and splattered into the side yard below. The barn cats had a feast.
Mom, Dad, and the younger brother sat down to the feast and it was like you could cut the silence and tension with a knife. Not one said a word. Dinner was served but wasn't festive. No fancy tablecloth or centerpiece, and the everyday dishes were used instead of the good china and good silverware, but no one noticed or cared. They couldn't take their eyes off of the empty place at the table. The place where the kicking under the table would originate, and the spoon launching of mashed potatoes would come from and all the silliness and laughter in the world would start and continue each year for 18 years. Dad began to give the blessing and couldn't make it past the first 3 words and left the table and went to his room and never came back. The younger brother and his mom sniffled back and forth, blaming it on "must be an allergy" or "we must be coming down with a cold" trying to hold back the tears. They couldn't eat anything either. This time, this mom failed, and couldn't fix this hurt. It was too quiet, and they were too alone and distraught and the tears gushed. Dinner was wrapped up in foil and containers and put in the refrigerator. They gave up.
Hours passed and by this time, dad, and the younger brother were outside trimming trees in the orchard, preparing them for winter and mulching leaves. Mom had spent part of the day in the barn tending the animals and the other part doing laundry and cleaning the house, washing the floors over and over and over again trying to work off some of her frustration and saddness. And trying to pretend that the Thanksgiving disaster did not happen. It was all her fault she thought. She made everyone cry again. And how could this have happened to their family? How could someone kill their child? And why them? What did they ever do that was so bad that they have to live in darkness? This cannot be fixed ever as she washed the floor for the forth or fifth or sixth time.
Then the phone began to ring. The phone began to ring a lot. Relatives were calling from everywhere saying they were all thinking of them. They all got to pass the phone around and say hi and chat a while to the aunts and uncles and cousins and neices and nephews and step sons and their families all who lived in other states. Friends began to call too. And the older son's girlfriend called to remind them she loved them and sent some of her great hugs through the phone and that she was going to spend the next day with them. Then came the loud cars and trucks in the driveway and knocks on the door, and even the drewling kid came over with more friends. A couple of the neighbors came by to say hello and some people from Church, and friends of the younger brother came by to spend some time with them. Out came the feast out of the refridgerator and plates and the microwave was working over time and everyone was eating and talking. Before they realized it, their house was noisy again, people were laughing, teenagers were running in and out from the front door to the back door. Somebody was screaming for some reason, probably the "Drewler" was after them.......There was music playing and the television was on and all sorts of confusion going on. Someone spilled drinks on the just washed floor and Mom was happy to see a mess again. Some teenagers spent the night with the younger brother and planned to get him on the roof to put up some Christmas lights over the long holiday weekend. Mom's first words to everyone was "What took you all so long?"
It wasn't the Thanksgiving Day that was wanted. But it was the best that it could be with good friends and loved ones who decided to show up and call. People do make a difference in the lives of others.
The End
Written by "Anonymous"
This is a family that thrived on holidays. Any holidays and all holidays were always celebrated to the fullest in this house. Right down to Valentines Day, and St. Patricks Day when Mom was sure that no one would leave the house without wearing green and carrying a lucky shamrock in their pocket. Now, Thanksgiving was approaching and this year, that day would go unnoticed for the first time ever. Not a turkey to be cooked, no pies in the oven, no friends or relatives would show up and it would be just another day. This year, the boy that would light up any room would be so very missed, that the family could not bear an empty place at the table. That boy was in heaven.
Each year they would host Thanksgiving dinner for any relatives that could make the trip and anyone else who would be friends of the boys that had no families, no parents, no sense of belonging to anyone anywhere. There would be a lot of noise, everyone laughing, confusion, spilled drinks on the tablecloth, much inappropriate behavior but so much fun for so many people. But this year, no one was going to show up and they'd be alone, they knew it, and dreaded it. They decided it would be best to ignore it and treat it like any other day. Without their other son, they didn't want to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Eve morning, mom woke up to hear the usual weeping of his younger brother in his bedroom. After listening to the sobbing for a good 10 minutes, she knew that it was time to come up with a plan and intervene. So mom gained entry, bounding into the room, and attacking the younger brother in his bed hollering "it'tickle time" as she tickled the heck out of him until he turned his tears into giggles. She then instructed him to get up and get dressed because they were going shopping. Maybe it was a bad idea she thought, to try to carry on a tradition with their family so incomplete and sad, but something had to give and so they went.
The first stop was at the house of the older brother's girlfriend. They usually would stop by her house while passing through town for a hug. She gave good hugs and seemed like this Thanksgiving Eve morning, she needed hugs badly too. She was going to become part of the family. This Christmas, she would have become engaged to marry the older brother. They found the ring he had been keeping for her with her name on it and notes of his intentions. So she was already family in their eyes and always would be very special to their hearts.
The next stop was to pick up the younger brother's buddy who was crazy. They had to bring him along because they knew he'd be good for a few laughs and he surely was. This kid was considered the "King of Gross" in mom's book and he lived up to that expectation very well while drewling in the back seat of her truck for some 40 miles for no apparent reason other than him telling her "Hey, I'm just a stupid teenager".........agreed. The boys wanted to stop by the big mall for a little while, most likely to try to pick up girls while the mom window shopped. The older brother had taught the younger brother that the best way to pick up girls was to stand in front of Victoria's Secret and look like a nice guy, but the younger brother had never tried it without him until now. So, Mom gave her instructions to her younger son that if he was going to be hitting on girls in the mall, to be sure they had their shots and had all their teeth and were not on any Wanted posters at the post office and definitely not to touch anybody. She was happy that at least he was finally laughing. It was agreed, so off they went in their separate directions.
The Mall was quiet on Thanksgiving Eve morning. Apparently all the shoppers were waiting for Black Friday to shop. Even Santa Claus had no customers and there he sat on his throne with his two elves looking quite bored. Mom didn't really want to window shop so she sat on a bench by Santa's Elves who began to strike up a conversation with her but she didn't want to talk to anyone. Then the elves decided that moms need to speak to Santa Claus too and told mom to come and talk to Santa who was motioning for her to come and asked her what she wanted. He gave her a large candy cane but she told Santa no, that he couldn't fulfill her wish and bid him and the elves goodbye and left the mall hiding her tears and waited for her son and his friend in the parking lot. They arrived after a while, with no girls and no phone numbers for girls with the excuse that it was "slim pickins." She wondered if the friend had quit drewling...........
Later off they went to Walmart to buy a turkey. Mom decided that they were going to have a turkey and all the trimmings after all. The younger son always was in charge of picking out the biggest turkey he could find every year, and clean it and prepare it for the oven. He loved the part about pulling out the body parts and describing it in gross details for everyone every year till they all would turn blue and want to hurl. This year, he selected a mere 16 pounder. The shopping continued until the shopping cart was full of food for a Thanksgiving feast, including a ton of unsolicited but very necessary junk food.
Thanksgiving Morning arrived and right on schedule and following family tradition the younger brother prepared the turkey while mom cooked up a storm, and everyone watched the Macy's Day Parade. Mom would go nuts every year when she would see the "real" Santa who would be at the end of the parade and every year she would cry, cry, and cry tears of joy at the jolly man and convince her boys that the Macy's Santa was the one and only true, real Santa. She had believed this her entire life, so of course her children believed it too. So true to form, here came Santa on the screen and she hollered for her boys to "LOOK, there he is", and then felt so bad when she turned around realized that there was only one boy in the living room.
Then, somewhere along the line mom forgot about the pies in the oven and the smoke alarm went off and the kitchen and living room filled with smoke. She opened the kitchen windows and went to place the pies on the window sill but missed, and the pies went flying out the window and splattered into the side yard below. The barn cats had a feast.
Mom, Dad, and the younger brother sat down to the feast and it was like you could cut the silence and tension with a knife. Not one said a word. Dinner was served but wasn't festive. No fancy tablecloth or centerpiece, and the everyday dishes were used instead of the good china and good silverware, but no one noticed or cared. They couldn't take their eyes off of the empty place at the table. The place where the kicking under the table would originate, and the spoon launching of mashed potatoes would come from and all the silliness and laughter in the world would start and continue each year for 18 years. Dad began to give the blessing and couldn't make it past the first 3 words and left the table and went to his room and never came back. The younger brother and his mom sniffled back and forth, blaming it on "must be an allergy" or "we must be coming down with a cold" trying to hold back the tears. They couldn't eat anything either. This time, this mom failed, and couldn't fix this hurt. It was too quiet, and they were too alone and distraught and the tears gushed. Dinner was wrapped up in foil and containers and put in the refrigerator. They gave up.
Hours passed and by this time, dad, and the younger brother were outside trimming trees in the orchard, preparing them for winter and mulching leaves. Mom had spent part of the day in the barn tending the animals and the other part doing laundry and cleaning the house, washing the floors over and over and over again trying to work off some of her frustration and saddness. And trying to pretend that the Thanksgiving disaster did not happen. It was all her fault she thought. She made everyone cry again. And how could this have happened to their family? How could someone kill their child? And why them? What did they ever do that was so bad that they have to live in darkness? This cannot be fixed ever as she washed the floor for the forth or fifth or sixth time.
Then the phone began to ring. The phone began to ring a lot. Relatives were calling from everywhere saying they were all thinking of them. They all got to pass the phone around and say hi and chat a while to the aunts and uncles and cousins and neices and nephews and step sons and their families all who lived in other states. Friends began to call too. And the older son's girlfriend called to remind them she loved them and sent some of her great hugs through the phone and that she was going to spend the next day with them. Then came the loud cars and trucks in the driveway and knocks on the door, and even the drewling kid came over with more friends. A couple of the neighbors came by to say hello and some people from Church, and friends of the younger brother came by to spend some time with them. Out came the feast out of the refridgerator and plates and the microwave was working over time and everyone was eating and talking. Before they realized it, their house was noisy again, people were laughing, teenagers were running in and out from the front door to the back door. Somebody was screaming for some reason, probably the "Drewler" was after them.......There was music playing and the television was on and all sorts of confusion going on. Someone spilled drinks on the just washed floor and Mom was happy to see a mess again. Some teenagers spent the night with the younger brother and planned to get him on the roof to put up some Christmas lights over the long holiday weekend. Mom's first words to everyone was "What took you all so long?"
It wasn't the Thanksgiving Day that was wanted. But it was the best that it could be with good friends and loved ones who decided to show up and call. People do make a difference in the lives of others.
The End
Written by "Anonymous"
Last edited by a moderator:
THANK GOODNESS! As rude and angry as everyone was here yesterday, I realized I was very very thankful- because I had them.
