Brining the Turkey and Dialisyzing the Kidneys

My father-in-law is one of the men of legends. Anyone who has met him has a story. He is a man of deep passion, eclectic interests and communication, he can literally fix anything, and he loves to serve. Put all of these things into a Charles, and there are stories-especially with his children. I'm fortunate to be married to one of them so when the siblings get together there are stories of tiling floors, ordering pizza when his wife wanted to eat food storage for a week, a Corvette in process of repair in the garage, searches of treasure, gun shooting adventures, and on and on. 

Charles recently broke his hip. Ouch. Seriously. Both in the breaking and repairing of the hip. We've all been worried. Living far away is really hard at times like this. My heart, and my husband's heart with with Mom and Dad in Arizona. 

During Thanksgiving, the Hornbargers were reunited. Ian, his brother Spencer with Miriam, and his sister Beth with Brandon. Spouses of in-laws are fun. We had little cousins running around, and Ian playing the piano, and Beth singing pretty twills amidst playing with her nieces, and Spencer finding things in the garage. We don't get to do this often, so it was especially precious and memorable.

This week Charles came home from spending a month in the hospital. He was so happy to be home, and we were so happy to have him home. One of the new routines became helping Charles hook up to his home dialysis. Medicine is freaking amazing. He can sleep while the machine does the work of his kidneys. It just takes a few tubes here and there, a switch, some programming, a couple of bags of clear solution stuff that looks super important, and wham-o. A man can live. Jeananne is the main caretaker, and Charles can do most of this stuff on his own, but we were allowed to help out sometimes, and I had a great time learning how to release clamps, and unwind tubing, and press buttons.

Ian took over making Thanksgiving dinner. Ian and I have some serious requirements for happiness when it comes to Thanksgiving dinners. Through the years, we've had delicious foods that have become incorporated into our menu. My must is Mandy's sweet potato pie. I call her every year for the recipe. That is also tradition. We like to refer to Martha Stewart for the brine. Texas Roadhouse copycat rolls. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Homemade cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries. I'm drooling just thinking about all of the delicious things. Dinner was fantastic, and Grandma Great was able to join us for the evening. She loved her great grandbabies, grandadults, and visiting with her son.

My favorite night was game night. The adult kids went to dinner and had thin crust pizza and fancy lemonade. Then we came back to play the game Codenames, which literally uses every brain cell I ever wished I had. So fun. Lots of laughing and hitting the table, and declaring "cheaters." (Just kidding. There were no cheaters. Ian made sure I didn't cheat. I didn't mean to cheat, but I did accidentally cheat, but Ian figured it out. I'm not bitter or anything. I don't hold grudges for over 20 years).  

There is no moral or angle. I just wanted to capture some of the wonderfulness that was Thanksgiving 2017. Beth and Brandon, thanks for coming from California and blessing us with your awesomeness. My kids are crazy about you, and they love your little doggies. Spencer and Miriam, it was amazing to see how busy your little family is. Your kids are all doing fabulously and I admire you guys. You're doing it right. Jeananne, I love your retirement. You are a gracious host, and the classiest gal there is. My kids are so lucky to have you as their grandma, and I'm glad I get to step in and be your daughter through association. Charles, you are one tough old bird! I'm grateful for all the moments and memories. 

I'm so lucky. So, so lucky, to be part of this family. I'm even luckier that I got to bring all of my favorites home with me to Nebraska.