So the plan was to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with my dad, my brother and sister-in-law, nephew and cousin. I was able to work around our deadlines to escape for a few days to upstate New York. Of course, things don’t always go as planned…
The way our deadlines work, there was the matter of having to have my part of our ‘Living’ section done before I left and, with a 7 a.m. flight out of Sacramento on the day before Thanksgiving, that meant I worked really late the Tuesday night before my flight. Okay, honestly, I worked really early into the morning of my flight. But it got done and I was able to get home and pack before my friends and co-workers Michelle and Teresa arrived at 3 a.m. to pick me up and get me safely to Sacramento.
Lines were long, even at 5 a.m., but since it was the day before Thanksgiving, I guess that shouldn’t have been a surprise.
What was surprising, in a wonderful way, was the experience itself. No one was in a bad mood. Little children were not fussing, parents didn’t look too haggard. And the line moved efficiently along, well enough that I had time to get a coffee and enjoy it before boarding my plane.
I was able to get a window seat and was looking out at them loading the suitcases when it struck me that I had totally forgotten to pack pajamas. How do you that? And why it popped into my head just then, well, who knows? But with my sister-in-law picking me up in Albany at the other end of the line, I made a mental note to ask her if we could stop somewhere so I could purchase some new PJs for my stay.
Flights were smooth; changing planes in Denver and, again, nothing but smiles and pleasant people. I sort of got concerned that I was in some sort of a Stepford-wives-type alternate universe but it just must have been everyone being in a happy holiday mood.
My dad had been asking for quite a while if I was going to make a trip home this year – the last time I visited was over two years ago – so Thanksgiving seemed like the perfect time.
Arrived safely, got the pajamas, got to hug my dad and then settled in upstairs in my old room for a good night’s sleep.
My brother called me about 8:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning – 5:30 a.m. California time – to see if I was up and around. Well, I’m awake now, I told him.
He said “Have you looked out the window?” and welcomed me home.
About eight inches of freshly fallen snow covered everything at my dad’s house. Not much was moving on the roads except the snowplows. My brother had to plow out his driveway, come down the hill and plow out my dad’s driveway, then go back and do his again because it just didn’t stop snowing.
My nephew had arrived on Wednesday evening from New Hampshire, beating the snowstorm by a few hours.
Needless to say, our Thanksgiving didn’t quite turn out as we envisioned. It got postponed a day and my cousin couldn’t get off her snowy hill but my dad, brother Roy, sister-in-law Becky, nephew Ryan and myself enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner on Friday. I also got to visit with my niece Renee and my grand-nephew, Honor, earlier in the day as well. Plus, an added bonus of being snowed in was getting to bake up my dad’s favorite oatmeal raisin cookies – two batches – while I was there.
Yes, the snow looks beautiful in photos. I took some very artistic shots, some just for fun, and marveled at how cold the 24-degree temperatures felt in the morning. Good thing I had some warm pajamas.
Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.
