Happy Thanksgiving, Part One

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa, Darryl, Daniella and Valerie. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome and planning such wonderful things for us to do! A snapshot:

--We made it up to NYC pretty easily, since we left at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. Rachel and I dozed off and on during the trip, and when we arrived and Grandma and Grandpa's, we pulled into the indoor pool's parking lot, changed clothes and got to their house just after 4. Darryl, Daniella and Valerie were already there, and the cousins had a joyful reunion -- and immediately went into the library to play with the awesome toys that Grandma and Grandpa had gotten, including some Legos and wooden blocks that Rachel -- who cheerfully let me give away both those things years ago -- became immersed in. Go figure. The food was fabulous, and thanks, everyone, for the compliments on the cake. Daniella's pecan pie was transcendent, and I don't even LIKE pecan pie.

--We slept at Grandma and Grandpa's, had breakfast with them the next morning and then drove to Darryl/Daniella/Valerie's. Drew took off to visit his family gravesite near Columbia and then to the Mets store (Rachel was very happy with her T-shirt and Mr. Mets figure, which she sleeps with every night), while we all walked (it was so warm outside, I really didn't want to go to a museum) to a local restaurant, Exo, and had frozen yogurt afterward while I dashed into Haagen-Dasz and had an ice-cream cone, for, probably, the last time this year, I figured (although it is supposed to be in the mid-60s this weekend, so who knows?). Then we all walked back to the apartment and put on "Mary Poppins," which I had really wanted to see again -- and, boy, what a difference Hi-Def and a big TV make. Even Drew was shocked when he showed up around 8 and saw the end of the movie. Once again we vowed to get a bigger, newer TV, and once again I'm sure it won't happen unless a) I start working full time or b) I bring in a LOT of freelance money next year. But money for a new TV would be worth it!

--The girls had a sleepover that night and bedded down under a tent that Valerie/Darryl helped construct out of a sheet taped to the furniture. It looked kind of cool, actually (the next morning, they built a zipline for their stuffed animals at the far end of the bedroom. These kids!). They woke up at 6:30, but Drew called sleepily from the living room that we weren't ready to get up yet, and so they were pretty quiet until around 8:30 or so. Thanks, kids!

A breathtakingly generous heart

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (which I had off), Rachel and I had the day together. Unfortunately we ended up running a bunch of errands, starting with a haircut for her at the place she always goes to, the Fair Oaks Mall (about a half-hour from home, where I've never been because Drew always takes her to get her hair cut). I pointed out a photo of a bob, and she said "NO," but I asked the hairdresser to cut off so much that it ended up being, in fact, a bob. Which did not please Rachel, but thankfully she got over it quickly. We wandered through a couple of stores, including Macy's, where I picked up a new teakettle (our old one died after Drew pointed out that bits of the inside had flaked off, and I was probably being poisoned, and we were NOT going to use our green teakettle anymore), and then headed home to bake a chocolate-chip pumpkin-cocoa cake.

Then we got Mommy-and-Rachel manicures and pedicures at Nails 2000, my favorite mani/pedi place in Arlington. And THEN we took Metro to meet Drew at Citizen Burger, which he wanted to try after my rave review. We were having a nice dinner until the end, when we started talking about scheduling over the next few weeks -- including the fact that Hanukkah started the week after Thanksgiving, and neither of us had time to get presents until well into the eight days.

And then Rachel, bless her, suggested this: Why not wait until Dec. 13, the last night, to open presents? Astonished, Drew said, "Are you sure?" And she said yes, and I felt my heart burst with pride because we have a raised a generous-spirited child who continues to astonish us with her patience and compassion. "You're a great kid and we don't deserve you," Drew told her, and it is indeed true.

Dental meltdown

Took Rachel to the dentist on Nov. 21, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the poor kid was traumatized. I mean, TRAUMATIZED. Dr. Wali is pleasant enough, and she has a daughter of her own, but Rachel was so upset -- she kept kicking her legs and crying, and I had to tell the dentist, sharply, more than once, to be GENTLE. (I went first, and she was pretty businesslike -- not gentle, just "let's get the work done, folks.") Oh, how I miss Dr. Mike -- Mike McKeel, our old Gresham dentist -- he was so nice, and his assistants were extremely careful.

Dr. Wali suggested we stop and come back another time, so she could do Rachel's lower teeth, but I said no -- just finish it all now. She seemed disappointed in Rachel's reaction, but all the while I was thinking, "I have GOT to find a better dentist." Luckily we got out of there quickly, and then I left Rachel with Drew while I went to meet a current and some former Post colleagues for a late lunch at Citizen Burger, what turned out to be an AWESOME burger place close to the Clarendon Metro.