Just thinking out loud

Yesterday afternoon I cooked a delicious turkey with all the fixins. The meal turned out superbly and there were two well-filled and happy people afterwards. Cleaning up didn’t take too long because I prescribe by the notion of cleaning up pots and pans as I go along so that I’m not faced with an overwhelming task when the meal is finished. My only complaint is that the meal is over in a fraction of the time it takes to prepare it. In any case, when all was cleaned up, there was a lot of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing left over. I’d planned for that.

Last night a crowd of hungry kids arrived. Not that they were hungry when they walked through the door, necessarily, but after being here for a few hours, they worked up an appetite.

This morning, there was little left of that turkey besides bones. Looks like a pack of vultures attacked it. The potatoes were also gone as were the stuffing and gravy. I admit that I enjoy watching kids eat. They do it with such gusto. There’s still enough left to make turkey soup, so I’ll be prepared for the next wave.

I like having the kids here. They like being here. Feeding them is small price to pay to make sure they’re safe and out of trouble. Kids cruising in cars late at night is a recipe for trouble. So, when they’re here, they are out of reach of trouble. And they have fun. In a couple of years I suppose that will change, but for right now, it works.

Tomorrow the lad returns to his Dad’s house for a couple of days. And over the weekend he’s going up to New Hampshire to stay with some friends at what the family calls a cottage. I’d call it a huge farmhouse with a hot tub and sauna, but whatever. So it’s going to be a quiet-ish week for me and that works, too. The house needs a bit of tidying up and I have some of my own projects to attend to.

Meanwhile...looks as if President Ford died yesterday. I always liked him despite his faults and shortcomings. He seemed like a decent man, maybe a bit humble with a genuine air of kindness, yet he didn’t shy away from telling us when things weren’t good. Maybe he wasn’t a memorable president in terms of presidential accomplishments, but I’d happily take a President Ford any day over what we have. I really did like him.

I wonder if it will ever occur to the current resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave that accomplishment is only a small part of a person’s legacy. Even supposing that he believes Iraq is any kind of accomplishment. Kindness and decency and compassion are what seem to be remembered when all is said and done. I’m not too sure those are qualities that he values very much. Of course, if they were, we wouldn’t be where we are, I guess.