So I got to see pretty much all of the family this weekend. As far as trips to visit "the fam" go, this was not a bad one. My parents (live in Alabama) were up visiting my brother who lives in Cincitucky or Kentuckinatti (either place is acceptable). His kids were also there as well as his current wife. Author's note: Current wife does denote some amount of temporariness. The first wife only lasted for right around 8 years. I am sure there will be some chatting about my brother and his wife at some point in time. Back to current events.... My wife, the little man and myself traveled down to my brother's for the fun events of Easter Sunday '05.
To my immense surprise, it was a fairly enjoyable trip. My brother's incredibly attention starved kids were both very well behaved. The younger of the 2 is the one that is usually a bit uncontrollable, but he seemed to be in fairly good spirits. My parents seemed to be at least partially happy during most of the visit. They both started getting a bit snippy near the end of the visit, but that was it. My brother and his wife were actually fairly connected and engaging. All in all it was a nice visit. I think most of this pleasantness is due to the fact that my parents had only gotten to my brother's house the night before. Less time for them to have devolved into the unhappy people that they typically are. Last time we visited, they had been at my brother's for 4 days already and things were charged up pretty high. Anyway... I always build up these trips to be much worse than they actually turn out to be. Better to be prepared for the worse than expect the best.
All of that being said and all..... Who has a ham without mashed potatoes? That is just plain stunning. No mashed potatoes with my Easter ham?!!?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!? CHEESEY POTATOES INSTEAD?!?!?!? (and we all know how I feel about un-necessary use of cheese)My family has no idea how to have a holiday feast. Both my mom and dad eat like birds and my less than 2 year old ate more than the 11 yr old and 8 year old combined. I was one of the 3 people there who got seconds and the only one who filled my plate a second time. My wife would have gotten seconds if there were mashed potatoes and the ham wasn't dry. I think all of this lack of eating has to do with never having the correct food at the holiday functions.
Case in point: I remember one Thanksgiving that I traveled down to Alabama from college in Kent, Ohio (a 12 hour drive) to only be presented with a "Turkey Loaf" as the main dish at my Thanksgiving meal. My mom thinks that breakfast chops are pork chops. My dad puts sugar on his lettuce only salad. Mom puts peanut butter on her pancakes. Dad puts brown sugar on his plain white rice. etc.... etc.... etc....
My family is not necessarily known for the food. Food is one of the reasons that I love my wife. She and her mom have introduced me to the wonders of actually good food.
No mashed potatoes with my ham. What the Hell.......
To my immense surprise, it was a fairly enjoyable trip. My brother's incredibly attention starved kids were both very well behaved. The younger of the 2 is the one that is usually a bit uncontrollable, but he seemed to be in fairly good spirits. My parents seemed to be at least partially happy during most of the visit. They both started getting a bit snippy near the end of the visit, but that was it. My brother and his wife were actually fairly connected and engaging. All in all it was a nice visit. I think most of this pleasantness is due to the fact that my parents had only gotten to my brother's house the night before. Less time for them to have devolved into the unhappy people that they typically are. Last time we visited, they had been at my brother's for 4 days already and things were charged up pretty high. Anyway... I always build up these trips to be much worse than they actually turn out to be. Better to be prepared for the worse than expect the best.
All of that being said and all..... Who has a ham without mashed potatoes? That is just plain stunning. No mashed potatoes with my Easter ham?!!?!?!? WHAT?!?!?!? CHEESEY POTATOES INSTEAD?!?!?!? (and we all know how I feel about un-necessary use of cheese)My family has no idea how to have a holiday feast. Both my mom and dad eat like birds and my less than 2 year old ate more than the 11 yr old and 8 year old combined. I was one of the 3 people there who got seconds and the only one who filled my plate a second time. My wife would have gotten seconds if there were mashed potatoes and the ham wasn't dry. I think all of this lack of eating has to do with never having the correct food at the holiday functions.
Case in point: I remember one Thanksgiving that I traveled down to Alabama from college in Kent, Ohio (a 12 hour drive) to only be presented with a "Turkey Loaf" as the main dish at my Thanksgiving meal. My mom thinks that breakfast chops are pork chops. My dad puts sugar on his lettuce only salad. Mom puts peanut butter on her pancakes. Dad puts brown sugar on his plain white rice. etc.... etc.... etc....
My family is not necessarily known for the food. Food is one of the reasons that I love my wife. She and her mom have introduced me to the wonders of actually good food.
No mashed potatoes with my ham. What the Hell.......