Mashed Potatoes & Awkward: Reheated

A continuation of my trip to the land of tryptophan.
(Although like any good story, each part can be appreciated on it's own as well as part of the whole.)
Leg Two
A full day in Wisconsin
My dad had invited my mom to his Black Friday Thanksgiving because she hadn’t had anywhere else to go for the holiday. She called Friday morning and asked if he wanted her to bring anything. Only her own silverware, since my dad would be feeding 6 people and had only found 5 forks.

I had had a discussion early in the day with my little sister about not using the term “half” in reference to siblings. She said she didn’t like using it because it made her mom (who has 4 kids by 3 guys and is engaged to what will be her 3rd husband.) feel bad. Guilty, embarrassed, etc. I told the kiddo, “I call you my little sister even though you’re nearly taller than I am (at 5’, ½” who isn’t?) because it’s not like you’re my sister only half of the time or that only half of you is my sister.”

She and I were in the back bedroom when we heard a knock at the door. We heard my dad open it and say, “Come on in Elder “Spencer,” Elder “Cliff,” this is my ex-wife, Ginny.”
So, for those of you not following along, I had a Thanksgiving meal on a Friday with my little sister, our dad, my mom and two missionaries. Who must have been awkwardized into paralysis because neither one of them said much for the two hours they were there. And they never once asked if they could share a message with us, either. To be fair, it was Elder Cliff’s third or fourth day in the field. But they were so quick to get out (I don’t know if it was the two hours or the awkwardness, honestly) that one of them forgot his scriptures and my dad had to go running out the door after them.

My mom took me into town for Portage’s Holiday Parade, which was pretty cool. It had to be; it included someone in a bunny suit riding snowtubes down a makeshift ramp into the street from a trailer attached to a moving vehicle that was playing TSO.
After, we stopped to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousin Porkchop, who was baking peanut butter cookies with Hershey’s kisses and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups in the middle. (Deeelish!) We went in and neither my uncle nor my cousin were able to say where my aunt was. She said she hadn’t wanted to come to the parade with us because she wasn’t feeling well, and it turns out she had taken her puppy over to the neighbor’s to chat. It was an okay time.