The Aftermath....

Nineteen people, including the babies, sat down for Thanksgiving dinner at my house.  We can seat ten luxuriously at our dinner table.  Twelve can eat in comfort.  Fourteen might be okay if we were a family of, um, smaller proportions, but we are big people of German extraction and we like our space. 

Each year we try to reconfigure things.  We've tried a kids' table (they hated it).  We've stretched tables through doorways into a second room (it works but no one in the other room can leave that room until dinner is over.  The weak bladdered among us must choose wisely).  This year we removed the coffee table, put a piece of plywood on sawhorses in the living room, added tablecloths and voila! We had seating.  We called it the 'young families' table.  All the young couples with babies fit there without difficulty, and Babygirl decided to add herself to that table.  That left the older families (with one nine year old) at the other table.  There was a clear line of vision from one table to the other, they physical separation being about four feet. 

Socially, it was an unqualified success. And we had one chair to spare.

Last night was Leftover Night.  I put most of the leftovers into crock pots to heat, and the rest into the oven.  It's a very low-stress meal.  I baked the two extra pumpkin pies, and at Babygirl's request, made some apple crisp.  All the deserts went on the table, and the rest were in the kitchen to be served buffet style.  Everyone who arrived early started with desert LOL!  We had ten people happy and fed, and spent the evening playing games and music.

Fitted in between, and for much of this morning, was the cleanup.  You can't have sixteen extra people in your house without creating a spectacular amount of trash, dust and dirt.  I haven't been killing myself, but I've still put a significant amount of time into the cleanup, as well as the usual household chores.

So for the rest of today, it's about me.  I'm going to get a pedicure, shop in my favorite store, and relax.  Don't look for me.  I have no interest in being found.

DeeDee