Ahhhhh, another Columbus Day has come and gone. I'm sitting here curled up with a mug of hot cider reminiscing about the day's events. I just finished taking down all the decorations. Hubby is just finishing putting the inflatable Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria ships away in the attic. They looked so cute on the front lawn this year.
The family all arrived just before noon. We sat around the fire and sang some of our favorite Columbus Day carols. The kids all enjoyed a wacky couple of rounds of Pin the Americas on the map. Soon enough it was dinner time.
We ate until we were stuffed and then everyone got into costume for the Columbus Day pageant! Grandpa and Grandma played the roles of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and they sat regally on the couch in the living room as my little nephew, playing Christopher Columbus himself, asked for permission to sail the ocean blue.
The little girl cousins all played the roles of wives bidding their husbands bon voyage, and all the boy cousins dressed up as seamen. Away across the kitchen they went, braving the deep blue seas of the oceans to the far away New World.
My aunts and uncles were waiting in the den; they were dressed as natives. My cousin "Columbus" strode from the kitchen tile onto the carpet of the den and proclaimed it to be the New World. My Labrador Retriever peed on the carpet for good measure. The seamen all coughed and hacked with make believe scurvy and small pox. And the natives shivered and shook and retreated to the back porch. The pageant ended in much fanfare with the success of Columbus' voyage.
Soon after it was time for everyone to gather their presents and journey back home. I'm smiling with the fond memories of another family gathering. So proud to be an American.
All things Olive today:
Being a smart aleck
The drama over Christine O'Donnell
Honeycrisp apples
