Almost

He almost made it. Jared is home again. They arrived last night, late. One would think that since he is the captain, he could better determine a proper time to come home. One would be wrong. Jared did get to eat some leftovers from Thursday. I froze just enough for him to have turkey sandwiches for a few days. We have children so there was no chance of leftover desserts. Those barely lasted the day.

Jared missed out entertaining our holiday guest. We sponsor a single sailor every holiday we can. If the ship is in port, it is usually one of the crew. That means we have sponsored a grand total of 5 from the ship… out of 12 Thanksgivings. This year’s guest was an ensign that is from Oregon, my home state. It was refreshing being able to speak of places and events we have both enjoyed. It turns out we have probably crossed paths before. A favorite spot of hers is Depot Bay which is my favorite place. In fact, it is where I met my husband. Her hometown is not far from my town so we both tended to shop in Salem. As they say, it is a small world.

June was a great help in preparing our dinner. She insisted that she prepare deviled eggs. With a little oversight, the mustard was not too much this time. She was very helpful with other things too. She was very particular about how the table was laid out. Everything had to be just so. Not a fork or plate out of place and the napkins were perfectly centered which we were not allowed to disturb until dinner officially began.

Chao lei was… well… Chao lei. He snacked all morning then ate and ate at dinner. I was unaware of his hollow leg. I have to think that is how he ate so much. I have never seen him eat so much as he did. He takes after his father. The help I got from him was far from volunteer labor. I told him it is not his sister’s job to do all the cleanup. If you eat, you work. With great reluctance, he cleared the table.

Holiday is over, Jared is home, now we return to normal… until the next time. A positive thing is it is possible we will have a family Christmas this year. One can hope.