Descent into chaos

For years, my family celebrated Thanksgiving with Carol's family, sometimes at our house, sometimes at hers.

Those were some great Thanksgivings.

Then she had the audacity to move to Germany

Without her, we were kind of lost. The next three Thanksgivings were lackluster quiet affairs.

I don't remember this, but apparently, we didn't manage to get a turkey on the table in 2019. 

The next year was better, but it was also pandemic, so another quiet, just-us holiday.

In 2021, Carol moved back to the United States, but Mississippi, not Colorado.

Still, she spent that Thanksgiving with us.

So did a bunch of other people.

That was fun, so - even without Carol's help - we did it again the next year. 

And then again in 2023...

and 2024.

I love this tradition, but 2025 has been a lot, and I am tired. I was already on the fence about feeding a house full of people, so I was absolutely delighted when Seth's brother offered to host this year's celebration at a rented house here in Colorado. A no-work Thanksgiving with family and time with my favorite horse niece. Talk about a win! I have been looking forward to today and tomorrow all month.

Except... In the last twenty four hours, things have gone sideways in a serious kind of way. It's a little too soon to say, but it's entirely possible this is going to be a no extra people, no turkey Thanksgiving à la 2019. 

But hey! At least there will be pie, right?