I am slowly recovering from a turkey-induced, online shopping, football, drive-across-the-country, back to work weekend and I am grateful. I am glad to have had the time to spend with my family.
We drove to Memphis and feasted on BBQ ribs and stopped in Conway, Arkansas (home of the Toad Suck festival). We drove through the beautiful Boston Mountains on I-540, also known as the Wal-Mart Express because the headquarters and distribution center didn’t have interstate access so they convinced the government to build a connection to I-40. The next stop was Joplin, Missouri where we visited brothers, sisters and nieces.
As we crossed the OK/Missouri border singing with the title song to the broadway musical Oklahoma! Soundtrack, we scared the baby with a boisterous, “YOW”. The soundtrack was quickly muted but not our laughter at her facial expressions of disturbance.
We stayed with my mother and her husband for most of the time and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner there with my little sister and brother and their loved ones.
We hooked up with them again over at my father’s house with even more extended step people. My brother John announced that he and his girlfriend are engaged to wed in March and I am the best man. He returns the favor after I made him the best man almost twelve years ago. Congrats to John and Terri!
Friday, we avoided all retail outlets except for the online ones. Several of us were checking our inboxes for the Amazon.com Customer Votes promotion for a $79 Nintendo Wii to no avail.
Wonderwife and I enjoyed time alone from Daphne for the first time in three months as we ventured around Tulsa to rediscover our old haunts. We shot a few of the numerous art deco inspired architecture downtown, went to the Philbrook Museum and ate at our favorite burger joint and ice cream store before she got tired and missed the baby.
On Saturday we stayed at my father’s house as I helped him setup up the wireless router he got along with a new notebook. We watched our Oklahoma Sooners whip up on Okie State again and then watched undefeated #2 Kansas fall before the #4 Missouri Tigers (who are now #1). The 2007 college football post is coming soon as soon as we all recover from the craziness that it was.
It was worth the 1000+ mile drive back/forth from Birmingham to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 12 hour drive back home to Alabama was soaked in rain and baby needed stops but it was worth it.
This year, I am especially thankful for my family. After losing a grandmother, gaining a new brother-in-law, a new sister-in-law and watching my first child come into the world, I can really appreciate this bunch like never before. Take a moment to think about your close-ones and how to make them closer.
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