Christmas sojourn to the hometown

While Brian froze his fanny off in Kansas (and brought down a fine buck to show for it), I spent the week in Michigan with my family. It was a VERY wise last-minute decision on my part, if I do say so myself. Perhaps I have the Spirit of those darn Magi to thank for it.

The week was wonderful – just what I needed to feel excited for Christmas. After all, it’s easy for the month of December to become a string of oops-I-forgot-to-mail-the-Christmas-cards and oh-my-gosh-I-haven’t-done-any-Christmas-baking-and-it’s-the-night-before-the-last-day-of-church-before-we-leave-for-Michigan and what-a-loser-I-am-it’s-five-minutes-before-we’re-supposed-to-leave-for-Michigan-and-I-forgot-to-pack-the-presents or oh-no-it’s-three-in-the-morning-on-Christmas-Eve-and-please-God-don’t-let-me-fall-asleep-at-the-wheel-on-the-way-up-north-and-kill-us-all kinds of days. And it’s a shame, because I love Christmas. But being in Detroit made it feel like the holidays.

Saturday morning, my grandpa woke us up with a hearty crack on the front door and a sack of McDonald’s sausage biscuits and a couple gallons of chocolate milk in his hands. Though he claims to be the Ebenezer Scrooge in the family, we all know better: he’s even worse than that. We gave him lots of hugs and smiles and after eating breakfast with us, he left, as charmingly grumpy as ever.

Somehow, then, all six of us had the day free. We took a family Christmas shopping outing and followed it with a trip to the deli, where I tried a Reuben sandwich for the first time. It was so big and delicious that there was no WAY I’d possibly be able to eat it in one meal. So I guess there’s no good explanation why I somehow swallowed it in seven bites.

And all the while, we sang Christmas carols as only the Kleist kids can. Matthew did the beatboxing and Joel sang the crafty harmony, while Erin went for the Celine Dion sound and I perfected the sliding nonsense way up high and way off key. Yes, all at once, and we sounded like delightful, crumpling train cars.

After church on Sunday, while I gushed to a couple friends about my sweet and well-behaved dog Bo, my Dad announced with a sour face that Joel and Matthew had discovered a very rare and unpleasant Bo-surprise all over the basement floor. Though I still insist that this has NEVER happened and that he MUST have been sick while we were gone, the family has still given him a new nickname: Puddin’. But yes, we salvaged the carpet.

Other highlights:

• Having Becca pick out her Christmas gift at Penney’s and then dragging her across the mall to the Macy’s Christmas tree display, where I gave it to her.
• Perusing the mall with Joel, Matthew, and Erin, and sneakishly buying gifts behind backs.
• Drinking coffee each morning with my mom.
• Watching The Christmas Carol in 3D as a family.
• Decorating the Christmas tree and watching The Christmas Box.
• Brutally and ruthlessly winning Monopoly while my family suffered.
• Experiencing the Michigan cold and realizing that until we move back someday, I’m just fine in North Carolina, thanks very much.
• Spending time with my ultra-busy Kathleen.
• Missing, missing, missing Brian.

I am very blessed. Of all the problems in the world, the greatest one to have is a terrific family that’s just a little too far away for my taste. And a husband who likes to take long hunting trips so I can see them every two weeks during the fall, all the while wishing I was with him, too. It’s a wonderful middle place to be.

I'll show you moderation!

Today, while I was babysitting my neighbor’s son and daughter, the four-year-old girl brought me the 2009 Target Christmas Toy Catalog (with Over 500 Gift Ideas, Plus Coupons to Clip!) and began to show me what she wanted for Christmas.

“I want this kitchen,” she began, starting on page three. “And this Barbie, and this toy dog,” she continued, pointing to every other item on the page. She continued to flip the pages, listing each toy she saw as an item on her Christmas wish list.

I stopped her on page seven. “Amy, that’s like five hundred dollars!” I exclaimed.

“I know!” she replied excitedly before turning her attention back to the catalog. “I also want this, and this, and this,” she pointed. Every new toy that caught her eye was added to the list.

Now for the fun, witty correlation between this charming anecdote and my life: this is exactly the way I am behaving as I plan my Thanksgiving menu. I may cause my oven to explode this season. Best case scenario, I may only triple our gas budget for the month.

Let me explain. I love Thanksgiving. I thrill to see Halloween decorations in the stores because this is the first sign of its coming. But compared to Thanksgiving, Halloween is like the ugly stepsister who tried on the glass slipper before Cinderella came down the stairs and happily-ever-after-ended the story. Halloween is the “turn off your cell phones and enjoy the show” moment of the holidays, while Thanksgiving is when the show really begins. Thanksgiving is all but heaven – fall, football, family, a day off work, and a chance to unabashedly express the greatest American love of all: food. No need to hide it on Thanksgiving. We love food, and Thanksgiving is all. about. food.

(I think there might be another reason we celebrate this holiday, but it escapes me… I want to say it’s “thoughtfulness”? No, that’s not it. “Thoroughness”? No, I don’t think so. Maybe it’s “thankfulness”. Hmm. I also have this vague idea about boats and Indians and… something. I’ll figure it out one of these days.)

Anyway. So. Back to the food. This year will be the first year that we’re spending Thanksgiving with my family, and I am thrilled to be having more than two guests for dinner! I am so thrilled, in fact, that I am going to attempt one of the greatest culinary achievements ever:

I am going to pull a Sandy.

This means I am going to try to follow in the footsteps of Brian’s mother, who every year serves up a menu so extensive and abundant that it is the stuff of family folklore. It means that there are so many dishes on the table that at the end of the meal, there aren't more than a couple spoonfuls gone from each. It’s the standard to which Brian measured the potential of each wifely candidate, and it may just be that I was chosen because he believed I could one day do the same thing. And after three Thanksgivings together, I am going to try. Oh, it’ll be risky - this I know. It may be presumptuous and even downright crazy. But by golly, I am going to try.

So like Amy, I am flipping through my cookbooks and my bookmarks and my magazines, poring over recipes for the meal. “I’m going to make this, and this, and this,” I say, with wild abandon. And as I stack the recipes, I make a pile so massive it catches Brian’s eye as he walks by the table. “Maegan, that’s going to cost like five hundred dollars!” And I look up in excitement and say, “I know!”

Maegan’s 2009 Thanksgiving Menu. So Far.
Herb Brined Turkey Breast and Boneless Braised Legs
Classic Roasted Turkey with Hearty Raisin Stuffing and Roasted Pan Vegetables
Pan Gravy
Cornbread Pecan Stuffing
Cranberry Cherry Chutney
Cranberry Orange Relish with Apple
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Streusel Casserole
Baked Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Wild Rice
Corn
Baked Spinach and Gruyere
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Dinner Rolls
Buttermilk Biscuits
Cheese Bread
Honey Butter

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
Cinnamon Apple Pie with Ice Cream
Cranberry Cheesecake
Pumpkin Pie
Pound Cake
Fudge Brownie Torte
Whipped Cream
Raspberry sauce