AS I SEE IT...

December 25th, 2005, 6:05 am

Wishing, waiting, and wanting my son, who is in Iraq, to call home.

Turkey is in the oven and should be finished cooking between 7:30 and 8:00 am. My mincemeat pies are done, and they look and smell wonderful. The Ambrosia salad has been in the icebox since last night.

I love holiday food. I cook all the time, but Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year meals are all day long major productions. My daughter is cooking the two hams, and the pumpkin and pecan pies. We usually cook at least one pumpkin pie for each person. Have I told ya'll that we are all really hearty eaters. We don't just eat because we are hungry; we eat because the food is so good.

Eating in down the bayou south Louisiana is a social event. This year is especially special. We all have a lot to be thankful for in the wake of the hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I've got two new grandchildren.

My last child turned eighteen this year, which frees me from legal responsibility from my son's often stupid actions - Praise God!

My husband is sleeping soundly. We've almost recovered from some colds, or flu like symptoms that have made the last few weeks miserable for us both.

We will be toting our turkey, pies, and salad down the bayou to Dulac to eat at my daughter's house. My husband refuses to let me bring the giblet gravy with us, which is okay since most everyone else is not as fond of giblet gravy as he is - I just find it so amusing.

The turkey, which is stuffed with rosemary, apples, and oranges, is helping to make the house smell wonderful. We'll probably be feeding twenty or more people on and off all day today, not counting the kids.

I just wish Jon-Ray would call. Billy is offshore. I'm mad at Billy, so I really don't care if he calls or not. Billy bought some fire works, and being stupid like he too often is, immediately got in trouble. Granted there are a lot worse things Billy could have done, but putting M-80's in mailboxes just isn't that funny - especially when the boy managed to get arrested. Idiot child.

Now I would never say this to Billy, but I'm kinda relived... at least it's not drugs. Billy is working offshore as a night cook. Billy is eighteen years of age. At eighteen you'd think he'd be more mature, and know better. Maybe if I'd have let him buy fireworks when he was younger, he could have blown up mail boxes when he was younger and gotten this foolishness out of his system. He had to know that putting fireworks in mailboxes at 2:00 in the morning would get him in trouble. Idiot child. This foolishness is going to cost him thousands of dollars. You betcha it will. He didn't just blow up regular people's mailboxes. Oh no, he had to go to the most exclusive neighborhood in the city and make the fool. These rich people just don't tolerate this type of behavior from outsiders.

Well, ya'll have a Merry Christmas. I'm going to take a little nap.

Ho
Ho
Ho