Happy Thanksgiving!!

What's better than an uber-talented, uber-friendly cast?
An uber-talented, uber-friendly cast of 'foodies' that can cook!!

J and I have hosted some version of an 'Orphan's Thanksgiving' for six of the ten years we've been together - one exception being last year, in which neither of us were in a show and all of our out-of-town friends were... well, ...out of town.
Since a good chunk of our Hairspray cast is from all over - Utah, Georgia, New York, New Jersey - it seemed fitting to stick together over the one-day break from our performance schedule.

Our 'Thanksgiving' actually began on Wednesday night when our dear friends from L.A. (Chris and Ally) came to see the show and have a drink afterward. I often forget how much I miss a person's energy until I'm once again in their presence, drinking in their inspirational vibes. That is such the case with our 'old school' crew and every time I see them, I love them more! And so it was in a small bar over shoestring fries and pretty nachos that I started to feel like it was a true holiday.
Fast forward several hours... as I'm buzzed on white wine and clad only in my robe... to 3:30am where I'm in my kitchen, hastily preparing a brine for my turkey.
Now, we knew we were going to try to eat around 2pm at my mom's house, which meant getting there about noon to help. This meant setting my hardcore alarm (which J says sounds like some kind of nuclear meltdown) for 6am to start roasting the bird.
After less than three hours of sleep, I was up cookin' the turkey and probably should have gone right back to sleep... but the sun had risen.

The house was cold and quiet with J and the animals still asleep.

I was able to listen to the birds outside, inspect the renewed bloom of the poinsettia in my kitchen, and revel in the aromas that were beginning to seep from the oven.

At 9, I flipped the bird and turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (an annual tradition) and promptly fell asleep on the couch. At ten, Roxie announced the arrival of the kids with a hearty bark and the house went into full 'action' mode.

We made it to mom's around 12:30, which was plenty of time to finish preparations, carve both birds (Jerry smoked one - it was heavenly!), and lick the beaters from mom's mashed taters.
Collard greens, green bean casserole, cornbread, ham, pasta salad, potatoes for days, Corey's amazing banana puddin' and Megan's delicious cake... we had a feast!!!

I was starting to fade after round two... and found myself snoozing on J... overwhelmed.

Not overwhelmed with responsibility or obligation, but overwhelmed with satisfaction. Overwhelmed with blessing.
Overwhelmed with gratitude.

My parents are amazing. My mom puts up with my routine mischief and troublesome nature and bails me out more than should be allowed at my age. My step-dad is an incredible guy with a heart of gold and an amazing artistic eye (for a straight man). My brothers have all turned into amazing young men with incredible wives. My nieces and nephews are the best looking kids to ever grace the face of the earth and are all sharp as tacks. And my kids... oh, my kids... who make me smile with just the thought of what phenomenal human beings they are, and inspire me every day to be a better person. My kids, who tolerate my absences during tech week and 5-show weekends. My kids, who get as excited about sharing their holidays with a group of whacky artists as I do. My kids, who continue to teach me every day that my capacity for love is much greater than I ever thought it could be.

My son and I gorged ourselves on second (and third) helpings of banana puddin' after a short nap at home.
And now... I will fall into bed and sleep in tomorrow, thankful that the show schedule is light this weekend. Thankful that I have food in my belly, a warm bed to sleep in, a roof over my head, and steady work through May.

Thankful that my kids were more excited than disappointed that I'll be at Arkansas Repertory for 8 weeks this Spring.

Thankful for the extended family that has touched my life (and my belly) over the past 5 weeks.

Just. Thankful.