Friday, November 23, 2007

Let's See..How Honest Should I Be....

I have something to say that I did a good job of not admitting to anyone last night, in case I "ruined" anything for anyone (because I probably would have cried).

This was the worst Thanksgiving I have ever had.

There.

We went to our movie, which was fun. That was fine. We saw Bee Movie. Then, we went over to Old Country Buffet. We waited for quite awhile, which is what I expected (maybe an hour?). But, I had never been to OCB before. I am not trying to be rude when I say this, but if we were wanting to go to a soup kitchen, redneck convention and a nursing home at the same time, we would have visited OCB. There's just no other way to describe the scene.

Once we got our table, we sat next to this family who had probably picked up their grandparents from the nursing home (which is a sweet thought), and were feeding them in their wheelchairs. We got our food from the buffet, and finally sat down. Then, the elderly woman started making these gutteral, phlegm-produced, growling-gurling sounds. Loudly. I tried to ignore it, but my family couldn't. I got sick to my stomach and could barely eat. My family was trying to contain their laughter, which was quite embarassing. My husband almost choked on his turkey.

Finally, the family left. I tried to get the woman's noises out of my head, but it was difficult. My appetite was gone. I then tried to stay positive and get my son stuff to eat and drink. But, then I kept seeing dirty people in their sweatpants (dressed for the big meal, I guess) filing in, and the condition of the restaurant, I couldn't hold it together anymore. I could feel my body stiffening, and I was trying to not touch too many parts of my body on anything (like the dirty handle of the chocolate milk dispenser), thinking about the hundreds of people cycling through there. I had previously told my son a lot about how you can dispense soft serve ice cream, so of course I had to get him some. He wanted to do it himself, which grossed me out, because everything at the ice cream center was sticky and messy. At the sprinkles station, there were dirty spoons in a couple of the containers, and when I touched one, it was sticky. EEEEwwwwwww......I tried to check out the desserts for myself at that point, and just didn't have the stomach for it anymore.

I got back to the table, and my husband sensed my waning enthusiasm. I just shook my head, because at that point, I would have cried. I told him I should have stayed home and cooked. He said it was just fine. Well, no it wasn't. How lame is it that we were not invited to anyone's home, and it's been this way for several years? How lame is it that every time I try to open my home on Thanksgiving to people who need somewhere to go, it never works out? How lame that we're sitting in a filthy restaurant with dirty people getting grossed out and wanting to leave? Knowing that I have to be responsible for making things memorable for my little family, why did I waste this year doing this? Why did we ever move away from the closest thing we had to family in San Diego? Well, now I was getting on a sad roll as you can tell........

My husband asked if I was going to get dessert. I said, "not really." So, he asked if I wanted to leave. I nodded. And, we left. We got home and the kids wanted to play a game. My husband, who never plays games, actually joined. I think he was possibly trying to redeem the day. We tried Cranium, but it was too hard for my son, so we switched to a lower level Cranium game called "Cadoo." Apparently, it was the right level for my husband. hee hee :) Just kidding. He didn't do so hot. At the end of our second game, our son burst into tears because he had to be timed to answer a question, and it frustrated him. The game time was over.

After that, we watched TV for the rest of the day.

Yay.

I think I'll go cry now.

10 comments:

Organized Chaos said...

Sorry your day was a disappointment.

We've had a variety of Thanksgiving days over the years...some with close friends, some alone, some with family, etc.

The one thing I've learned, there will be some that don't look like I imagined or desired, but whether or not they meet or exceed my expectations I usually can find something to be thankful for...some years though, it is harder then others!

Have you guys ever worked at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving? I know it sounds depressing, but I did that one year (and your kids are at a great age for it!) and I think it has helped me appreciate every Thanksgiving since!

Hope the rest of your wknd was better.

Jodi said...

It's more than just a day's disappointment...

Chelle said...

I am so sorry friend. On the flip side, at least you know what not to do next year...or something like that.

It's been a hard year, but keep pressing on! Joy still lives. Praying for you.

Anonymous said...

Jodi, I feel so bad about your Thanksgiving experience. Of course I would feel much worse if I had suggested you try OCB. We can relate to your experience. I don't mind OCB but I'm a guy and I don't notice a lot of things. My wife will never go there again. She'll notice something from fifty feet away like a spot on a glass or something. She's like you, it has to be clean and unsticky, etc. My kids love it! It's my parents favorite place. They practically own stock in it.
I think this year was the first year we were invited out in a long time. It was ok.
I hope next year is better for you.

Anonymous said...

Jodi, I have to confess that my wife and I were cracking up when we read your OCB post. You were probably in tears and we were laughing. I'm sorry. It's just the way you described those people and the sounds. It was great! That drives my wife nuts too. She'd be like, "that's just what I wanted to hear," gurgling noises.

Jodi said...

I know. It is kind of funny to read it. But, I cry too....

Anonymous said...

Quick question, is the girl from "Organized Chaos" your sister? I may be way off but she looks a little like you.

Jodi said...

HAHA! No, she is not. We met a few years ago, during one of their many military moves. They visited the church we were attending at the time, when I was starting up a MOPS group. She had little ones, and wanted to get in on that. I actually worked in a little store they opened, too. Boy, it sure would be fun to have her for a sister, though. She is one of the funniest people I know. I wish I had her around....

Ro said...

Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry your Thanksgiving was so bad! I have to admit, I just laughed at your post. I, too, wondered why I moved away. I wondered that while I was attempting to make stuffing for the first time, and realized half way through that I needed dry bread.....which I didn't have. It wasn't fun. Many moons ago I had a dear friend, Lori, who told us funny, endearing, touching stories. Her motto was "if you can't turn it into a comedic story later on down the road, maybe it wasn't worth going through". I don't always subscribe to that philosophy, but maybe in a few years you can actually look back at this Thanksgiving and laugh about it. That might alleviate the pain!

Jodi said...

Thanks all you great friends. Thanks for caring at a low point. I'm doing my best to have a good mindset. It all starts with how you think, and I definitely got myself going on a downward spiral of thinking that weekend. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."