i love turkey

  if i had three favorite ordinary sounds they would be 

water on rocks

fire on wood

daddy's voice
especially at night and on sundays becausehe speaks even deeper
and more rumbly then.

if i had three favorite ordinary smells they would be 

woodfires

sea air

leather

or three ordinary favorite things to do

laughing

dancing

watching

 but then there comes Thanksgiving.  and that is not ordinary. 

and there are so many things i love about it. but one of my favorite things about

 thanksgiving

is the noise...it's so mixed up...

cheers for football

bustling in the kitchen

laughter

little kids scooting under tables and tickling each other
preachers talking in their corner, sipping coffee 

shhing for the babies who need to sleep

...nathan's laugh. and joshua's and uncle zack's. they tickle me every time.

grandmama overseeing 

the door bell.  it's not a ding donger, but a buzz .  if you've ever been there

you know the sound.  it's specifically 

grandmama.

the door opening and closing - closing 

more slowly than it opens because of the air pressure pump thingy

at the bottom that makes a kind of sighing noise as it closes.

the squeaky silverware drawer

the bathroom door shutting and instead of twisting the lock

using the hook

daddy reading dr. seuss to the little girls in his lap

box fan in the yellow bedroom

penny barking

isaac teasing. :)

wahoo yelling, and groaning and chanting

thomas saying 'my darling' to hannah

seth trying to say my name 

and messing it up

again.

and then at night, with everyone packed into the living room

and spilling over into the kitchen and hall and den

singing. 

singing. 

singing.

full and beautifully and powerfully.

and that is why

three things just wouldn't do

for thanksgiving.