Fried Turkey | Skilled Urban Survivor

Thanksgiving in the Barn

November 30th, 2009 |

Author: admin

Thanksgiving at our house was a wild and wacky affair that started at 9 AM, when our 3 of our kids and their friends pulled in from an all night trip from California. The first bit of excitement came from daughter Katie’s Pomeranian puppy meeting our other two dogs. Lots of barking and confusion as our pit-bull and lab mix didn’t know what to make of this puff of white bouncing fur.

Molly waits for turkey

Things settled down for a bit, and then the chaos intensified, when son Jeff showed up with his St. Barnard and Boxer puppies.Though our expected numbers dwindled a bit, we still decided to eat in the barn. The room let everybody stretch out and not be cramped elbow to elbow. Decorating with Indian corn and fake fruit and leaves gave everything a festive air. We ran a string of Christmas lights through the middle and hung another strand from the garage door opener, giving us additional light.

Using a high-powered space heater kept the nip off, but everyone still kept their jackets on. No one was really cold eating dinner, but it wasn’t exactly a place we wanted to sit around and visit after we ate. Everyone pulled a chore from the chore jar, and we cleaned it up in an hour, including putting the folding chairs and tables back in the truck to return to the church.

Afterwards our other daughter brought her four kids over for desert. The dogs made another trip upstairs and chaos once again ensued. We had a piñata that was left over from Halloween. The barn was a perfect place with a high ceiling and protection from the cold outdoors to hit it. My wife made it from a cardboard box, covered in black plastic to look like a spider. The box was almost too sturdy and each kid got to smack it with the stick until they were tired. My 23-year old son finally broke it open and the candy poured out.

Me and some of my kids.

We then went back in the house to eat desert, enjoy the fire, watch a movie and play some games.
Not much to say about preparedness or survival in this note. Just a feeling of satisfaction and thankfulness in being with kids we haven’t seen in almost a year. I have a feeling of gratitude for this great country and the ability we have to pause and enjoy such a time of love and warmth with my family. I hope that all of you have had the same chance to reflect and take pleasure in such a day. Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving too.