TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF! Thanksgiving Break: Part 3 of 3

 After leaving my dad's house we headed back onto the snowy roads to get to my Aunt Stacy and Uncle Randy's house which was (again) going to host our family get-together for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I was so excited to introduce Rory to them!   We have always been so close!  My brother, and I were there so often as kids that it just feels like an extension of our home.  My Aunt and Uncle aren't just that, they are extended parents.  My cousins also are not just cousins, but extra siblings that I got to hang out with on all major holidays and summer excursions.  Our whole family always met up there and continued from where we left off.  I have some of my favorite childhood memories there!  (I was very disheartened that my Aunt Pat and Uncle Greg weren't able to make it.  We miss you guys!)

As we stepped up to the door to go inside, I couldn't help but have a flash of memories flood back into my brain. 

I can picture my cousins and I playing tremor tag in the yard.  The "tremor" tearing after the victims.  But, when you stop moving, the tremor is blinded.  So classic!  I remember turning the basement stairs into a huge slide by adding 2 enormous mattresses to the mix.   We tested our filmmaking skills by killing everyone off in are Scorsese meets Wes Craven horror fest.  After poor Aunt Stacy was suffocated by a pillow, and her only job was to remain still, she still managed to change channels on the remote control.  (It completely made the movie so much better!)

We threw tons of blankets and pillows on the trampoline and camped out under the stars, we drove each other insane by giving each step of the stairs an abstract color name like Macaroni and Cheese yellow and then had to repeat them by memory to become the king or queen of the Rainbow Stairs.  But the best memory of all, and the one Aunt Stacy would like to forget, was when I was 12 and visiting for Christmas, the moment I walk into the house, Aunt Stacy turns from that sweet nice lady into a demon spawn from It's Hotter than Hades in here and her eyes glow red, and her lips burst into fire as they shriek... "TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF!!!!"  I fall back from the concussion and then everything turns back to normal.  "We got new carpet."



  As I knock on the door, no one is home.  I call her and she says: "You're there aren't you?  I knew that the moment I left you'd show up.  Oh my goodness. I'll be right there!"
 And she was.  She basically kidnaps Rory, in the nicest way.
"Where is Rory?  Oh, I will hold him.  You can go sit down for a bit.  I'm sure you're tired.  You know you have to help yourself if you're hungry.  There is soda in the garage and all kinds of good stuff.  I've been cooking for days in preparation for you to get here!  You better eat everything!"
 "Alright!" I say.
"Oh he's so precious," Aunt Stacy says and you can see the love in her eyes.  It's the same love you always see from Aunt Stacy.  I loved seeing her holding Rory.

"Hey!  I was kind of hoping you'd ask Rory to take his shoes off.
 "Oh pish!" Aunt Stacy says.  "You make such a big deal about that, and you blow it all out of proportion."
  "It's not just me.  Everyone remembers it!  It's like JFK or Neil Armstrong.  It's historical."
"Okay, okay," Aunt Stacy says.

 As Kim and I go to grab the Chex Mix from the bowl and eat a few handfuls, I hear a voice say, "You know, there's only one tub of Check Mix." 
 "Oh, should I stop eating it?" I ask.
  Aunt Stacy laughs, "No.  I don't know why I said that.  I'm just.."
  "Because you are amazing, and that's why we love you!"
"You are sweet, "Aunt Stacy says, "Now will you grab my ipad, I wanna take a picture of this little honey!"

 We basically didn't get to hold Rory again for another three days.  This was especially the case when Ryan, Sara,  Angie, and Matt came over.  It was so awesome though.  We got to catch up and they got to meet the amazing Mr. Ror-ster!  They loved holding him too!  It was so great having the family get back together. 


"Get me a Corona!" Grammy Kay shouts to Angie as she starts dancing on a table. 
"Sure thing!" Angie says.  "Here you go!"   Then Angie grabs her phone and snaps a picture of Rory.
"You guys aren't going to drink too much are you?  Thanksgiving is tomorrow," Aunt Stacy says,  "and if you drink you won't want to eat Thanksgiving!"
"I've never heard that before," Kim says.  "The things you can learn in Wisconsin."
"You learn a lot here," Angie says, "Like that one time when Josh had to TAKE HIS SHOES OFF!"
Everyone laughed. 
"How could we forget that?" Sara says.
 "That was the pivotal moment of our lives," Ryan says, "That and creating that radio show.  What was it called again?  WFAT?"
"When Fat Adults Talk," Sara says.  "I was Flabby Abby, but Angie was the best!"
"Double Chinny Ginny!" I shout.  "So much fun!  Ryan, weren't you Raul Movement?"
"Wow," Kim laughs.  "So the poop humor doesn't just end with Josh?"
 "1 of 3 of us has IBS, and we all talk about it!" Grammy Kay laughs.


Kim, Sara, Ryan and I slipped out at some point to watch the new Catching Fire movie, which was so good, and the fact that the theatre was freezing made me like the movie even better.  I felt like I was actually in the movie for the first half. 
 

As Thanksgiving came, the drunkish people were still able to eat and that was very rewarding in itself, plus we played all sorts of board games, (including Balderdash which is one of the things we always do when we get together.  Because we are all insane and make up the craziest stuff)  I really miss living so far away and only getting these opportunities to be with family so minimally.

Here is a beautiful rap that they maybe drunkish or non drunkish people made for Rory:

http://khu.sh/autorap_52980c7c4347a&v2

Later, Rory starts to cry, and before I can get up...

"I'll feed him," Sara, Angie and Stacy shout at the same time. 
Sara snaps a picture of Rory with her phone.
"Nice," I say.   "I think even the celebs don't get this many pictures taken."
"Oh that's because he's so special!" Grammy Kay says.
"Yes we know," I say.  "He's advanced!"
"HE IS!" Grammy Kay shouts standing up.  "Look at his hands!  Those things just never stop moving!  Those hands are special!  He's going to do something with this hands."
"Are you prophesying over him?" I ask.
 "Probably!" Grammy Kay says, "I was drawn to those hands, even before I met him.  I saw them in a picture and I just knew."
 "Cool!" I say.

After Rory eats he begins to grunt.
"Oh that's my boy!" Grammy Kay shouts!  She begins to grunt.
Kim looks at me and her eyes grow, "What is she doing?"
"Let's find out," I say.  "What are you doing mom?"
 "Oh... I grunt with him!"  She grunts again.  "It helps him poop!"
 We all laugh.
"Just be careful, we don't want any accidents."
"I'll be ready for that," Sara says snapping a picture!

When it was time to go, Grammy Kay cried and as I went to hug everyone, Aunt Stacy pushed me away and said, "You have to hug me last!"  So I hugged everyone else first.

As we pulled away my Aunt and mom stood at the door waving until we were no longer visible. 

"That's what they always did when I was little." I tell Kim.  "When we left, they'd all stand at the door and wave and wait till we were gone."
"I'm so glad Rory got to meet all of them," Kim says.
"Me too!"


P.S.  In case you wondered about the flight back.  Rory decided to poop as soon as we sat down in our seats.  It sure was fun trying to find a place to change him 10,000 feet in the air. 

Comic by Bitstrips