Thanksgiving on the Farm

When I was growing up on my mom’s farm in St. Louis, I couldn’t wait to leave for college.  No more chores, no more horses, no more “in the sticks” – none of it.  I was going to go out into the world and experience everything I could.

And, boy, did I.

That’s another story entirely.

Now, all grown up and married, I really love going for visits back to the farm because I feel, based on said worldly experiences, I appreciate everything the farm has to offer a bit more – fresh air, peace and quiet, simplicity, and family.

Stephen and I have decided to, as much as we can, split holidays between Atlanta and St. Louis.  I’m very close to my mom and living 600 miles away from her really sucks, to put it bluntly.  After the baby is born and we can travel with him/her, we’re going to try to up the visits to the farm to at least twice a year and try to convince my parents to come visit here once a year.  So, getting to see them 2-3 times a year is better than the once a year we have going on currently.

Anyway.

This past Thanksgiving, we spent the whole week there and it was wonderful.  The weather was beautiful, a bit on the chilly side, but gorgeous.  I got to see my newest little nephew, Christian, pretty much right after he was born.  Holding him was one of the best things in the world and really made me impatient for next May when I can hold my own little baby.

I don’t see my brother that often so his oldest, Benjamin, who is two, doesn’t really know who I am but I’m hopeful that will change with time as he gets older and retains information better.  I’m sure I didn’t know many of my relatives at that age.

I still don’t.

We brought Max, which was an adventure unto itself.  The drive up there was very stressful for him and we had to make frequent stops to walk him and calm him down.  At one point, I drove and Stephen sat in the back seat with him and that seemed to help a lot.

The farm was a whole new world for Max.  Their front yard is immense and provided him plenty of room to run at full speed.  Which he did.

And then skidded to a halt upon seeing horses in pens right next to the yard.

Most of the horses at the farm love small animals, so a new dog perked all of them up and they wanted to say hi to Max.  Max would have none of this, barked at them, then ran away.

This became a daily occurrence.

By our last day there, he was barking at them and running alongside the fence to get them to run with him.  That was especially fun to watch.  The whole experience, I believe, mellowed him out a little bit.  He doesn’t seem as skittish or jumpy or freaked out at things as before.

Thanksgiving itself was wonderful.  Despite our sad family news, we had a huge, fantastic dinner with my parents, mom’s mom, my brother and his family, including the newborn.  Max got a bit of turkey which he was thrilled at and immediately asked for more (of course).

Our last day there, we went to see the Christmas Train Exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  It was in the 60′s that day so walking around and taking pictures was actually a lot of fun.  The trains were pretty cool albeit not as spectacular as I envisioned it to be.  And Stephen bought me an absolutely gorgeous picture of a framed blue butterfly (he didn’t give it to me until we got back home to Atlanta, though).

That night, my mom and I built a Gingerbread House and we introduced my parents to WALL-E.  They loved it.

Duh.

All in all, the week was amazing and fantastic and I wished it hadn’t gone by so quickly.  I eagerly await them coming here next spring for the birth of the third grandchild (on that side – first one for Stephen’s side).