It’s that time of year again! Not Black Friday or Fall Break. That time of year where you figure out who’s going to wash all those dishes piled in the sink and clean up the mess that was made after everyone came over and ate for Thanksgiving. Who’s pointing fingers this year? “Over here, over here, Me!”. Due to busy schedules filled with work, school, and extracurricular activities, it isn’t often that you get to see your family members come together. You can barely contain your excitement when you think about the family arrival and the location that Thanksgiving dinner will be held. Here’s a recap of how Thanksgiving usually goes down.
The Arrival
Thanksgiving is the time of the year where family may come and visit from all over. There may be family members you haven’t seen in years. It’s like a family reunion when they come to town, but the happiness ends when they start pulling out different pots and pans to serve the food. The part that brings great joy is when you see your favorite uncle in that Bill Cosby sweater with the smooth dance moves, your twin cousins with the scientific facts, and your auntie with those famous recipes for pies. You can never predict the conversations that will take place around the table but you can rest assured that at some moment one family member will say they’re expecting a baby, your cousins who are in college will be asked how long before they graduate, and that cousin or auntie who’s been single for what seems like forever now will be hassled with the never-ending conversation about when they’re going to get married and have children.
Even if you’re the butt of a joke or the main subject in a conversation, you still can’t wait until next year to gather all over again. Although you’ve laughed until your stomach hurts and have eaten until you’re stuffed, you still can’t shake the dreaded thought of the cleaning process. Want to know what the famous method needed this Thanksgiving to avoid this dramatic aftermath from occurring? Yep, you guessed it– plastic everything. I’m trying to prepare you ASAP because the aftermath of Thanksgiving is on the way. Dishes will be piled up along the sink like the Great Wall of China. Since the young people know how Thanksgiving Dinner normally concludes, this year we’ve come up with a game plan.
The Game Plan
All smiles and laughter fade, this is my least favorite. I know that there is a lot of work to be done. Everyone is using plastic plates and utensils, but we can’t forget about the family members who prepared their dishes using their favorite pans and pots. I’m becoming exhausted just thinking and talking about this. Teamwork is the best solution to resolve this mission of getting everything clean and back in order. Having your favorite uncle in the kitchen with the smooth dance moves along with the your all-time favorite Christmas music playing in the back ground could really help clean up process. An assembly line of toddlers could also be helpful. The best job for them is simple: drying the dishes and allowing the other children to grab trash bags to gather all the trash.
I know what you’re thinking, cleaning while guests are still eating is rude. It’s not rude at all, just call it, “Burning off some holiday calories.” {Evil laughs} {Clears throat} Back to the plan. You’ll need to gather a cleaning crew to clean the tables and make sure the floor is spotless. Hmm… Oh yea, the two brothers that like to compete against each other. Approach them with a statement like, “I bet you both can’t get the table and floor clean” and they will respond with something like, “I bet we can and get it clean way better than you can”. My psychology major is finally coming in handy. Once the kitchen is good and clean, we can high five one another and thank God this only happens once a year. That’s when we remember that some family members are staying the night and will expect breakfast and dinner the next day.
The Aftermath
While the “grownups” catch up on the latest gossip or play cards or listen to music and talk about the Good Ole days, “the kids” are all expected to put away the left overs and tidy the kitchen for the last time. That’s the least we could do since we didn’t have to slave over a hot stove, right? Wrong!
Don’t get me wrong– I don’t mind lending a hand, but when it comes to the cheese from all the casseroles sitting in my aunties’ glass pans, it is literally a struggle.
Everyone is gathering for the last time before heading back home. We got the kitchen clean faster the next day because of the assembly line we formed to clean up the day before. Would I do this again? Of course not! The family is leaving and providing to go plates was an absolute plus because we won’t have any leftovers. Mission accomplished for me because I won’t have to back track and wash those dishes. I will miss the conversation around the table, those scientific facts, hilarious jokes, and smooth dance moves, but it’s time for me to rest. If you don’t want to get caught in the mix of tackling the Great Wall of China (meaning the pile of dishes), I suggest you leave early.
The arrival was worth it, the game plan drew us closer, and the aftermath will be something that will drive me nuts every year. Happy Holidays!!