Thanksgiving Dinner

One of her brothers (I’ll call him A) that lives half way across the country decided to bring his family to town for Thanksgiving and stay at our house.  As soon as news of his visit spread, the other brother (he’ll be B) decided to fly his wife and kids in as well and stay with B’s wife’s family.   We decided everyone would get together on Wednesday evening at our house for a big Thanksgiving Dinner.  All told, there would be 4 from A’s family, 4 from B’s family, her parents and the five of us, a total of 15.  It would be an exciting night, for the first time ever, my wife’s parents would have all 6 grandchildren together at the same time.  Both A and B know that their sister is an alcoholic, but neither really understands what that means.

The planning and preparation that went into this day was pretty stressful.  She cooked some of the food early and stored it in the fridge.  We had a neighbor’s oven reserved to heat up dishes and my in-laws helped out by bringing some food.

The plan was for me, my kids, A, and his kids to go to the local miniature golf/go-kart park and spend the morning out of the way.  My wife and A’s wife would cook all day.  The in-law’s and B’s family would arrive around 4pm and we’d eat at 5:30.  I was happy with the plan since A’s wife would be there to supervise.  I knew she couldn’t keep my wife from drinking but at least the food would be cooked.

On Sunday, the day before A was flying to town, his wife called and said she wasn’t coming.  The excuse was that she had health problems that would keep her from doing some of the things we had planned.  I know there is more to it but I won’t get into it now.  It meant my wife would be alone all day Wednesday.

I had to leave her alone, I really didn’t have an option.  I couldn’t cancel the activities for the day.  I couldn’t have her mother come over for the day.  I knew she would be drunk.  I had to let it go and just hope for the best.

We all had a great time at the activity park.  We played miniature golf, go karts, laser tag and had a battle in the squirt-gun water boats.  We all left soaking wet and freezing but it was worth it.

We had to stop at the store on the way home for some last-minute groceries and got home just before 4pm.  Sure enough she was drunk.  I left her with instructions to put the turkey in the oven at 2:30 so I checked and it was in.  I couldn’t tell when she put it in, but it was in.

I took a shower and was ready when people started showing up around 4.  We have a big kitchen with a large island and an attached family room that everyone was standing around.  It made it easy for me to mingle with the guest and cook the dinner at the same time.

Around 4:30 it became apparent that the turkey wasn’t going to be done at 5:00.  I asked her when she put it in but she was too drunk to give me a real answer.  My guess is that she put it in around 3:30.  At least it got in the oven.  I ended up putting the beans and stuffing in the oven around 5:15 with and changed dinner time to 6.

At 5:30 I cleared everyone out of the room except one of my kids and my wife.  The guests went into the living room while we finished cooking.   My wife stood at the side of the island while my kid an I did all the work.  Occasionally, I would ask her a question like “how long should the beans cook” or “what temperature should I set the oven for the rolls” knowing that she would not be able to answer.

I asked her if we had any food cooking at the neighbors and she said “Yes, the neighbors”.  I sent my kid over to get it and she returned and told me we didn’t have any food over there.  She was too drunk to know if she used their oven or not.

We finished the cooking, made the gravy, carved the turkey and put all the food on the island at 6:00.  Turns out I left the cranberry sauce and a jello mold in the fridge.  I asked her if there was anything else but she couldn’t answer.

The kids were in one room and the adults in another.  I was glad that the kids didn’t have to see their Aunt drunk at the dinner table.  I watched her get her food after everyone was seated.  She got a few things and then just stopped and stared at the island.  I asked her what she was doing and she said “Turkey”.  She couldn’t find the turkey and was too drunk to figure it out.  The turkey was on the counter across from the island.

We all ate and had a great time.  She sat in her seat and didn’t say anything.

The twins and I cleaned up after dinner.  We used disposable plates and cups so it was pretty easy.  About an hour after dinner I decided to get dessert out.  She made a pumpkin pie earlier in the day.  When I tried to slice it, I realized there was something wrong.  It wasn’t really a pie, it was just a mass of goo.  I’m sure she put it in the oven without a timer and just took it out after it cooked for a while.  It was obviously not done so I just threw it away.

She went in the back and passed out so she didn’t have a chance to say goodnight to B and his family.  It’s too bad, we only see them once a year or so, and almost never see their kids.

When everyone left and the kitchen was clean, A and the kids and I decided to play Taboo.  It’s a game where you try to get your team to say a word without saying certain words that are on a card.  It’s pretty tough and can be a lot of fun.

Just after we started she came in from the back and sat down to play.  Our kids tried to keep her from playing and I took her in the back and told her she was too drunk to play but she insisted.  We decided to let her guess for both sides.  Everyone pretty much ignored her as she sat on the floor guessing for both teams.

We made it through the day.