Today is Wednesday. The fact that it is Wednesday is important only to illustrate how nice our Thanksgiving break was. We quit work last Wednesday afternoon when I headed to the airport to pick up my two youngest daughters (that actually was the only downside to the break -- I lost my wallet while at the airport; and although I've not recovered it, I've been able to cancel then replace my debit cards, my attorney bar card, and my drivers' license -- I'm only out about $20). We returned to work on Monday.
To save you the math -- that was 4 1/2 days of no-work. It was awesome. I'm not saying we didn't occassionally discuss work or think about what was in store for us this week, but we limited even that. We just took the time off and enjoyed our family and each other.
We had a lovely traditional Thanksgiving meal. We used pareve margarine in our cooking to help the youngest (21) keep the meal kosher. We talked a lot -- MIL really loved the girls (she had previously met one, but this was her first meeting with the other) -- we played a lot of games (including Acquire, which I had to acquire on ebay the previous week), we watched movies and we ate well (OK, I did gain 4 pounds over the near-week). I was even able to share the video we made of Mom's memorial service in Denver with the girls and they were very touched and very happy to be able to share in it, despite the fact that they were unable to travel to Denver at the time.
On Friday evening, the Girl's brother (BIL) arrived and joined in the family fun. We taught him to play Oh, Hell! -- one of my long-time favorite card games. He is a good sport with a good sense of humor. He was also a great help around the house. He helped us to install a handrail for MIL to climb the two stairs into the house from the garage and he helped pick out a stationary cycling machine (just the pedal mechanism, actually) and a stair stepper for her to work out her knee and get exercise. She's been using them and is really doing very well. You almost wouldn't know she just had her knee replaced in late September.
The only rub to BIL's visit was that the Girl has not yet told him that I'm transgender (we don't see him all that often, and when we do it's often for some other specific reason and doesn't seem like the time to discuss it). During one game we were playing, he apparently (I say apparently only becaus I didn't hear it, but everyone else did) referred to me as the girls' mom. But, twice during game playing the girls called me 'Dad'. On the drive back to the airport, one of them said that she recalls having a conversation with him where he asked about the girls' dad and they said "Denise is our dad" (two years ago, on the day after our wedding). I told the Girl about that and that I thought maybe he already just knew, but she said she thought that maybe he just thought that was the way gay couples with children did things (I doubt that, actually). Obviously, at some point -- sooner rather than later -- we are going to have to clear this up so that none of feels like we have to censor ourselves.
I took the girls back to the airport on Saturday evening and we took BIL back on Sunday evening. So, we had a nice time with just the girls, a nice time with just BIL, and a wonderful time with our blended family. It was a very nice Thanksgiving break.
Which brings me back to today, Wednesday. We have been working so diligently from before sun-up to late at night Monday and yesterday that this is my first opportunity to post! We have a VERY full week this week and next. I'll post more about that later, plus our plans for vacation in mid-December (to the Caribbean we go!).