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Giving Thanks… and Pie?

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I do this to myself all. the. time.  I get a prompt in my inbox and I think, “Oh yeah, baby, I know what I’m gonna write”. And then some annoying person comes and asks me for a stupid pen or lead for their pencil or whatever. And so I have to put it aside.  And then two days pass by, nothing written, and a new prompt shows up and I think, “Oh yeah, baby. I know exactly what I’m gonna write…” And then. I gotta send out a box… Well, you get the idea. I have come to realise that work is getting in the way of me doing what I really want to do. And it is NOT fetching office supplies (supplies, by the way, that they could get all by their own damn selves if they just walked into the supply room room which is not ten paces from where I sit).  But I digress with my impromptu mini-rant.

So Last Monday, dVerse was Haibun Monday – Giving Thanks.  I know where I’m going with that one.

And then on the Thursday that followed, dVerse was Pie Poetry – didn’t have to be related to Thanksgiving, though it was the ‘Murican Thanksgiving, of course.  I gots me pie stories to tell…

So here I am the following week, having written three (four?) other posts with this one still hanging out in drafts.  I almost left it in drafts to die a slow death but then decided, nope. Let’s go crazy and actually finish it!  So I decided to mush the two prompts together, somehow.

Giving Thanks With My Family Pie

My family means the world to me.  And I’m talking the whole gang:  from my grandmother, to my parents, to my aunts and uncles, to my sisters, my cousins, down to nieces and nephews, and my children.

Many are sadly gone now but they left their mark and they deserve a place at this table, in this peculiar pie.

No matter the situation, either one of us is a phone call and a drive-past-the speeding-limit drive away, urgency dependent, of course.

The birth of a baby, the death of one.  An injury sustained by a saw or a skull-cracking fall takes but one phone call, and the invisible director has called “Action!”.

It’s not only in moments of distress that we come together.  We join in celebrations: shopping for prom/wedding dresses, attending each other’s children’s recitals and games. And yes, we can even travel together!

They’ll call me on my shit, tell me I look like shit, give me shit, tell me my decision was shit.  But here’s the thing; so will I when they merit it.

They’ll celebrate my victories, tell me I look fabulous and let the world know they are proud of me.  Just like I will for them.

My family is a complex pie (it’s not even round) made up of varying slices (they’re not even, even) that you might think shouldn’t work together, but do.  Maybe they don’t all belong on the same plate, (some are savoury, some are sweet, some are spicy; all of them tart and not a few of them nutty) but they definitely belong in the same meal.

Holidays are fine

To give thanks to those we love

But every day’s best

 

 

 

117 thoughts on “Giving Thanks… and Pie?”

  1. Great post. No Sit! You get it all, from all sides with family, but that’s family. As far as the cycle of the inbox writing prompts good intentions, interruptions and good ideas slipping by, it’s a bit like Ground Hog Day. I start on a task at work get interrupted with a bunch of things. Later someone asks about that task I was working on. Damn. It’s where I left it in it’s unfinished state. C’est la vie all over again.

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Here’s to lead pencils given legs to walk to where they are needed, and to posts being written when they ought to. Like this one. So glad you did! And … as for families, for a large part of mine, this is quite true as well. A gift, it is, to have that! xoxo Na’ama

    Liked by 3 people

    • Thank you! I admit that I probably wouldn’t have thought of this idea without the prompts but yeah, way more interesting that a tree! And yes, each has a deliciousness all their own. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  5. I love this so much! 💙 And I know you feel this way, and you know I feel this way about my family. (And pie.)
    And well, you know that we both feel that way about prompts and work. . .😏.

    By the way, talking to sisters (or sister-friends) on the phone and walking around inside the house is a great way to get extra steps. A family thing yesterday–almost 25,000 steps for me.

    Liked by 3 people

  10. “…they’re not even, even.” I love this post! I love your definition of family although I would say that I have family that are not blood related but just as dear. I am sure you do to. I love your mushing together, every word.

    Liked by 3 people

  16. Can you feel the burn of my envy?

    It takes me a while to figure out ‘what will I do with that prompt?’ I forget so many good ideas. Sometimes, I get out of bed and finish the whole idea/project (bedside notes don’t work for me) lest I lose it.

    I love seeing the pictures of the family and reading your loving words. about your fun relationships (thus the envy). Well done, Dale. The pie analogy worked great. 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    • Awww.. C’mon now 🙂

      So often I take too long to figure it out. There are times where an idea comes to me in the middle of the night and I am tempted to turn on the light and at least jot it down, but then I’m afraid I’ll be too awake! Sigh.

      Thank you. Was so hard to pick and choose which ones to use out of my bazillion or so… I kinda thought it might work 😉 (the pie thing…)

      Liked by 3 people

  17. Uh Huh! Fab post, Thunder.
    I see your family pie as a 2 layered rhomboid.
    AND boy’do I wish for a piece of that r-hom….mie.
    A cryptic comment, at best. A note telling you how family lucky you are.
    xoxo

    Liked by 3 people

          • The nuances of baking can be elusive. Maybe yours are just as good, their just not your mothers. There is more to taste then just taste, I think.

            My mother was always experimenting, so sometimes it was not as good.

            Momma Eagle across the road from me here in NS makes fantastic pies. Her crests are always perfecto, I really mean it. Light, crispy, flaky and tasty whatever the inside may contain. Momma Eagle, cooks everything in/on a big wood stove/oven. but I doubt if that has anything to do with it.

            Liked by 2 people

          • This is very true. My mother can make an apple pie from scratch in 7 minutes – from making the crust, to cutting the apples and putting it into the oven. I cannot make a crust if my life depends on it. Unless it is a “pâte brisée”.

            I think my mother has screwed up her crust a grand total of once – and that was the lard`s fault!

            Like

  24. This is precious. Families ARE a complex pie, maybe all of ours. I am smiling that yours will call you on your shit. Some of my family members will, others not so much. All part of the pie, yes?

    Liked by 3 people

  27. Q

    Famiglia means something different to everyone. For some it’s a prison sentence while for others it’s a Hallmark movie. You just so happen to have the perfect middle ground where the authorities are never going to come calling on you while at the same time, there ain’t gonna be any of that saccharine either. Right in the sweet spot, like that.

    A SALUD to you and the famiglia!

    B

    Liked by 3 people

  28. Wonderful post dear Thunder!

    There’s apple pie
    Blueberry pie,
    Peach pie
    and even tarts.
    Yet no matter how yummy
    Says my tummy
    There is no pie,
    Like a Family Pie
    All filled up with hearts.

    Liked by 3 people

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