Elizabeth Atkinson’s Blog

I think I must have a slightly twisted mind in that I really enjoy mishaps.  Nothing major, but to me calamities and goof-ups make situations far more memorable (and funny) than the perfectly orchestrated event.

For instance, I love it when my kids come home with an Oops! school photo, like the ones with confused expressions or one eye closed. And what’s more fun than recalling that wedding where a hung-over bridesmaid passed out or the 5-tier cake collapsed at the reception?

In general, memories of my past Thanksgivings pretty much fade into one another through the years…with the exception of a few stand-outs, thanks to those little blips.

For example, when I was a teen, we drove up to Maine to take my retired grandparents out to T-day dinner since they were getting too old to host it.  As we were getting ready to leave for the Inn, my always elegant French grandmother (donned in her beautiful mink coat) was clearly wearing her fancy dress-up wig backwards. No one said a word, causing me (and my sister) to fight tremendous giggles throughout the day.

Another time, I returned from a college semester in Sri Lanka just before T-Day. Again, no one said anything as I ate my entire meal (and served myself) with my hands as I learned to do in the Near East. (In fact, I had officially sworn off all silverware.) I also wore an orange silk sari at the table.  This time, the suppressed laughter was definitely on me.

Fast forward another six years and my husband and I had just returned from our honeymoon in Portugal. We arrived at my in-laws house with my assigned pecan pie, which I had cleverly tucked into a box of Portugal slides we were going to show after the meal.  However, when my mother-in-law went to open the box at dessert, my failed pie was nothing but liquid under the top crust. And it had spilled all over the slides. My mother-in-law, with her usual graciousness, simply dipped a ladle into the box of pecan gook and served the mush over ice cream exclaiming it would be just as delicious.

I don’t know why I view these mishaps in such a positive light.  But to me, the messier life is, the richer the memories and (more importantly) the funnier the story.

Any other T-Day mess-ups out there to share???

Tags: blips, bloopers, calamities, funny, holidays, memories, mishaps, mistakes, story, thanksgiving