Sharing Snot

Dateline BoltBus: I’m on the bus back to New York. We are still in South Station. The data plan is so limited I’m going to just use it to post his. I’ll use my phone for everything else.

Once again it was pointed out that I forgot something very important in my last entry, our new holiday tradition, the most intimate of all, the sharing of the snot. We were all holding hands before Thanksgiving dinner and taking turns saying what we were thankful for. Genevieve, the three-year-old was the emcee; she decided whose turn it was. When it was her turn, she wiped her nose on her sister’s hand. We then passed it around. There is no truer sign of love and trust.

Yesterday was Second Falcon Ridge Thanksgiving. We were joined by the FRFF regulars, Jim, Eileen, and Carolyn. Carolyn has the longest history with the family. She took Emily’s art class when she was eight, she’s now 26. She was the kids’ babysitter, and their favorite person. I knew she came in because I heard the squeals of delight from the kids. I then joined the party, ran up to her shouting, “Carolyn!” and gave her a hug. Then I hugged Jim & Eileen, her parents. Margaret, another former student of Emily, and babysitter for the kids, joined us. She is now 20.

This was even better than Thanksgiving as instead of eating leftover turkey, I had bacon tart. That’s an amazing dish that I found online, pointed at Emily, and it became part of our tradition. Cate the 11-year-old was in charge of making it and I was her assistant. I primarily cut potatoes. The “crust” is made of bacon, which is then filled with alternating layers of potatoes and cheese, In other words it’s the perfect food. I drank homemade chocolate Bailey’s. I was content.

The new kittens were the stars of the evening, getting the most attention from everybody. Much of the attention was shooing them off the dinner table. As everyone there camps at Buddha-Pest at FRFF I can now call them my twice-a-year family. We are all clearly related.

After the Gorsses left and Emily was busy with the kids, Mel, Margaret, and I had our quality time. That is until Margaret and I discovered that the other one was obsessed with both the Marvel and DC TV universes. We flipped into total geek mode. We got obscure, right down to Birds of Prey. That’s a 2003 show that lasted one season.

This morning was the mad scramble to get out of the house. Emily and the girls are going up to meet friends in Vermont today. They can’t stay more than a night because a huge snowstorm is coming to Greater Boston, and they have to get home while the roads, especially their driveway is passable. The problem is getting four kids ready to travel is herding cats. I was herding cats much of the weekend, so I know the metaphor is apt.

I’m heading home with more than I came with as Mel has lent me all the Game of Thrones books I haven’t read. No more rushing to read them before they are due back at the library.

Now to figure out what to do the rest of the trip; do I read? Sleep? Listen to music? The answer is yes. First thing I do is kill the parent of the kid attempting, unsuccessfully, to play the recorder, and then take the recorder.