My grandson-in-law Clark and his mom Myra
A little addendum as promised on the day after…..
Thanksgiving, November 23, 2023
Since I don’t drive after dark anymore, my kind grandson-in-law picked me up around 11 on Thanksgiving morning with the little boys asleep in their carseats, but as soon as we started driving and Jingle Bells jangled through the car speakers, Russell began to sing along…in tune and everything. What a delight!
My granddaughter Connie
We sped up I75 to High Springs to pick up their mama and then wiggled
and waggled our way over to Keystone Heights, my Thanksgiving dinner destination.
Around thirty minutes later, we arrived at Rusty’s and Myra’s house on Crater Lake Circle. I asked if this was the name of the beautiful lake seen from their back porch, and Myra said it’s real name was Margie Lake. I’d love to know the story behind that. Lily pads hugged the western shoreline and Rusty told me he’d caught bass and bream as well as seeing a few small gators pop up now and then. The lake was considerably lower for the past few years than it had been with the community thinking it was due to a new phosphate mining company nearby who was draining the aquifer. A current replenishing attempt is in the works with water to be pumped from Black Creek to an aquifer recharge area. (Water agency inks contract to start building pipeline from Black Creek to Keystone Heights). Rusty was very up-to-date on all the information affecting his property.
The aroma as I entered their home was heaven scent (yes, that is spelled correctly). Myra, turns out, is an awesome cook. She had prepared every Thanksgiving side imaginable including corn pudding and slippery dumplings. I gorged! And gained a pound according to the response on this morning’s weigh-in! Oh well, it was worth every ounce. If only I hadn’t brought home that serving of Paula Dean’s Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake. I ate the whole thing before bed last night, and I know that is what did the damage but it was oh so good and my granddaughter made it.
I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with loving kind-hearted people. As the afternoon chilled and dinner settled, we gathered outside around a crackling fire pit and watched the children test their athletic acumen on the trampoline and then hone their driving skills in a battery powered kid’s car. Oh, to have their energy again!
With darkness creeping in, the children were herded inside for bath time, so that Mommy (my granddaughter) would only need to put them to bed once they got back home. We drove through the dark with sleeping little ones back to my home in Gainesville…and suddenly….Thanksgiving 2023 was over, but I am trying to make it immortal by writing this down to read again and again and relive the day in the future.
