Thanksgiving Festivities

Leading up to Thanksgiving, the work week went incredibly fast because I only had to work two and a half days because of the holiday. On Tuesday, I also had a job interview for a public relations firm in Wisconsin. It went well and hopefully I will be hearing back soon about my Skype interview next week.  After work, I went to the Porch. We have been talking about how to let go and let God in the Exhale series. It has been insightful and extremely helpful these past weeks.  When the service ended, I stayed after and chatted with Marcus, one of my friends from Prestoncrest, before heading home to finish packing. My friend, Allison, invited me to her house for Thanksgiving so I had to prepare to go to Mississippi for the weekend. Work on Wednesday went so quickly since we only had a half day. However, I was a little disappointed because I found out that the interns are the only people that don’t get paid over the holiday. It was still a quick day and before I knew it I was heading home.  I had a little time to relax and put everything together before heading to Mississippi with Allison! The car ride was incredibly pretty long but it went smoothly. I even got the chance to drive for a little while. When we arrived, everyone was really nice and we spent the night talking. The house was really beautiful and I was looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

 The next day, we got up and just lounged around in pajamas. For a while, we even went outside and sat by the fire to relax. The area is so beautiful so it was nice to just sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery. At 1:00pm things got serious and the cooking began. Allison’s mom did most of the work but we all chipped in here and there. The food looked so good. Allison’s mom really outdid herself. It took a while but we finally sat down and had an incredible Thanksgiving meal. Allison’s family is super sweet and they spent the evening talking about the crazy things they used to do as children. Town gossip was another hot topic. It was a little strange but I learned quite a bit about people in town. After an incredible meal, we went to the nursing home to see two of Allison’s grandparents. It was sad to see them in decline since I never got a chance to meet them in their prime. We did have a lively discussion though because her aunt and uncle from Tennessee where also at the nursing home. 

  
After getting back from the nursing home, we cleaned up dinner and made a fire. It took a while but there were times that it was quite warm and toasty. When the fire died down, we went inside and watched the Packer game. I watched the game on and off while I packed up some food to back back and chatted with everyone.  The Packer game was crazy. It was stressing me out so I was happy that we started playing dominoes. I had never played before and it was actually a ton of fun. Time flew by and before I knew it we were heading to bed again! Somehow I hit the jackpot and got the nice bed so I fell asleep fairly quick.

On Friday we slept in and then woke up to pancakes! Allison wasn’t feeling well so we had a slow start in the morning. I did get to ride a four-wheeler and it was a blast. There wasn’t much room but we did make a nice little loop. I was happy I got a chance to try it out.

After some four-wheeler action, we started getting ready to go into Jackson. It took a while but we finally headed out. Before going to Jackson though, we stopped at Allison’s other grandparents house. We talked for a while but were soon on our way. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi so there were some cool places to go and things to do. We mostly drove around looking at places but we did get out to look at City Hall, the governor’s mansion and a restaurant, Brent’s Drugs, that was a filming location for the movie, The Help. The restaurant was adorable and we stayed to get shakes. The Bates knew so much of the history and it was a fun evening of exploring. After our quick trip into Jackson we headed back home and watched the movie Like Mike. The movie was a neat find because I hadn’t seen that movie since I was little. It was quite a wonderful day and I was so happy to be in Mississippi.         On Saturday, Allison and I left early in the morning. It was a little sad to leave because Allison decided to leave her dog Bert with her parents so she could focus on finals and he would have a chance to run around outside. We were quickly on the way home but before leaving the state we took a quick break at the lookout over the Mississippi River. After that began the trek through Louisiana. It was beautiful in Mississippi which made it even more sad that I never did find a magnet to keep as a memorabilia item of the adventure. It was a great regardless. The trip home was a little rough because it was raining but the rain let up just long enough for us to stop at the Duck Dynasty warehouse.  I fell asleep for a while but I woke up just in time to see us stuck in traffic. Despite the delay, I finally made it home.

  
That evening, I unpacked my bag and had some delicious Thanksgiving leftovers.  I got home at a decent time so I also had time to finish my portfolio and watch a movie. The holiday weekend ended pretty quietly. The only excitement was going to the Waffle House with Marcus since I had never been before. After eating some tasty waffles,  we went to church morning class and the later service.  Shortly after church I headed home. It took a while because one of the buses never showed up but I still had plenty of time to catch up on some odds and ends that afternoon. I was so incredibly blessed this Thanksgiving and I was grateful to the Bates Family for hosting me and showing me all the greats in their area of Mississippi!