Givingthanks

A few unexpected blessings came our way this week for one of my favorite holidays.

My sister Jo Jo Golly came up to Swingstate from Crackerstate, something she has done several times in the last few years. Last year she dragged along her son, Bubba Golly Badly, who is around Jessi's and Zelda's age, and it was a lot of fun. He is a good sport, and it was fun to spend time with him, listen to music, talk politics, and hear his point of view. This year it was just Jo Jo, as Bubba spent the day with his girlfriend and her family in Atlanta, so we got to talk about him behind his back.

Zelda Golly came home from Northeast Swingstate University, of course, now careening anxiously down the homestretch toward the undergraduate finish line marked "B.A." Now that she has her own wheels, it's not as big a production to get her home for breaks and holidays, but it's still a big deal for her presence to be present in our presence. She and Jo Jo go way back, and Z takes after J in many ways. It's hilarious to walk into a room and see Zelda, Jo, and Gven sitting there talking and knitting furiously.

Equally strong is the vibe created by her brother Jessi Golly. A week ahead of time, we received word that he would be making the bus trip from New York, so we had a houseful. He rode in Wednesday morning on the Chinatown Bus, an independent budget busline that connects New York with several east coast cities, and now central Swingstate. Among other good news, Jessi is starting a new job this week at a comic book shop in the East Village called Forbidden Planet. We're relieved that he has a regular job and excited that it's doing something he's really interested in. He even brought a beautiful handwritten message to us from Alex, who was in Connecticut with her family.

So it was the five of us sitting at the table in the dining room of Om Shanty in Old Methodistville. Though it wasn't a very Methodist holiday. We linked hands and thanked the universe for being together. We listened to some old LPs of Phil Ochs and Peter, Paul and Mary that haven't lost their relevance in the 40 years since they came out. We ate turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, asparagus, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. We drank a little rum and OJ, a little Cabernet Sauvignon and a lot of coffee. We sat by the fire, read a little, and talked about stuff.

Friday it was gorgeous outside, so we spent the afternoon at Inniswood, the gardens that were given to the county by the Innis family and made into a public park. Going there does what John Muir said about mountains: you find more than you're looking for. Saturday We walked around the backyard checking out the garden in November. Jo Jo is an experienced and knowledgeable gardener, so hanging out in the garden with her is like being in Baker Street with Holmes.

Jessi got in touch with his friends Andy and Andrew from high school, and they hung out at Andy's house, but not without great difficulty coordinating logistics with Zelda, who was meeting her friends Max and Jara from high school and hanging out at Ryan's house. It wasn't easy, and it never has been, but they worked it out. That was a recurring theme: my siblings aren't likely to stop doing the things that irritate me, and I'm not likely to stop being irritated by them. But we'll keep finding ways to put up with each other, and maybe learn how to act in ways that doesn't make it worse.

On that cheerful note, I'll just say that it was a great long weekend. Jo Jo went back to Atlanta Saturday afternoon, Zelda went back to Kent Sunday afternoon, and Jessi got on the Greyhound for the Big Apple at midnight Sunday. Leaving a post-Thanksgiving vacuum in their wake. Is this the post-holiday blues, or am I just getting a jump on the upcoming pre-holiday blues?