My First Thanksgiving

By Jonah Thomas Cavanaugh

I knew this wasn't going to be a typical Thursday. Auntie Eliza, Uncle Gerard and Cousin Hugo were visiting us. I think they live very far away, but when they arrived, it seemed like no time had passed since I'd last seen them, except that Hugo is bigger, sitting up. I mean, he's still a baby compared to me, since I can stand up and have taken a couple of steps all by myself. But, he's still fun to hang out with. Hugo and I were very busy, as usual, pushing board books around the living room floor and chewing on blocks. Obviously, as babies, we still had a lot to do, even though it was Thanksgiving! Like looking out the window pointing to birdies, sharing my sippy cup and inspecting almost every piece of Tupperware, sucking on them and spreading them around the house. But, Mama and Daddy and Auntie E and Uncle G just sat around most of the day staring at us with these goofy looks on their faces, smiling a lot and laughing. I think they were cooking some big dinner, but mostly they just looked at us or hugged us. All morning I kept pointing at my turkey card from Auntie Dani, asking to play with it. I was dying to chew on it and slide it around the floor and tear it up. FINALLY, mama let me have it. Then, we went for a little walk in the strollers. I showed Hugo around my neighborhood and he was really happy when the supermarket cashier said nice things to him. I knew he would be! My friend, Ken, stopped by with his friend, Robin. Ken's cool. We hang out sometimes when Mama and Daddy go do stuff. As usual, Ken took a lot of pictures of me and Hugo. He's always doing that. After that, I had some lunch. Mama kept talking about the turkey that I was eating for the first time ever, but I just kept shoveling things in my mouth like I always do. Then, I got very, very sleepy. Apparently, Hugo was sleepy, too, because I think he was already napping. After a nice, long nap, I woke up and Dad came and got me. I hugged him and snuggled with him, but soon, I was ready to resume my work and show Hugo how to read books and stuff. I'm not sure if he minded when I got so excited and started patting and hitting him. I just couldn't help myself. He's so cute and nice. I just wanted to put my hands on his face and in his mouth. Who wouldn't? While we were playing on the floor, all the grownups ate a lot of pie and ice cream. I mean, they ate A LOT! No wonder they started getting tired for bedtime even before Hugo and I did! Pretty soon, Hugo had to go because it was his bedtime, and I knew that meant my bedtime was coming soon. I listened to some lullabies and read some books with Mama and Daddy. Daddy gave me a bath. Man, I LOVE taking a bath! It's so fun to splash around in the water. SO fun! After that, I got very, very tired and wished Dad would hurry up putting on my pajamas so we could read The Bear Snores On, my current favorite bedtime read. Then, Mama came in and snuggled me into her arms and I nursed and felt warm and safe and cozy and sleepy. I would say it was a pretty darn good Thanksgiving. I hope they are all this fun!