Harriet Corvine - Another life Episode 8

Autobiographical novella - Chapter 12 second half

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Harriet Corvine
Another life

This is an autobiographical story. Names, places and identifying features of characters have been changed to protect the privacy of those depicted.

Part II/Life II.

Chapter 12 Getting settled - Holidays

One thing that I did not expect was how frequently family members came down to visit. It started soon after we moved in, in fact I think they were there right then, too for a few days. Then there was a break and then they came again. Mostly it was Mimi coming for the weekend, then it was Josh staying there for a few days and then heading back up again. Having Mimi around was understandable since she was retired and had all the time of the world on her hands, but having Josh there was perplexing.

Downtown Prestown was nice with lots of small shops. The post office was to the left, towards the ice-cream shop, while opposite was a sort of corner shop, but more like a gift shop. That's where I bought my very nice postcards that I send back to my family frequently. Walking up the street we reached the grocery store. While I walked there, I tried to remember the correct grammar, and word order in sentences I was supposed to say if I looked for something and couldn’t find it. I looked up unknown words in my dictionary, and I was prepared with a shopping list. Then there was a jewelry store, where I bought the gold chain that I wear to this day. Main street also had a very nice pastry shop. I befriended the old German lady, Tilde, who worked there and visited her even after the family moved away. Further down from the pastry shop was a pet store that was always a hit for the kids passing the window.

At least once a month we drove up to see Leanne’s family. The first time we planned to drive there Leanne was going through the fridge taking inventory and said, "We need to get milk." I asked, "Aren't we going to a farm?" She started laughing. "Not that kind of farm." she said.

The farm wasn’t a working farm anymore, those days were long gone. It meant the main house and a big red barn, part of which was converted to living space for the family members. The main house, the original farmhouse, was a nice white house with a door and 2 windows facing the Old Post Road, which was just off Route 22. The front door was rarely used, because the side door through the stone patio was preferred mostly, coming from the direction of the circular driveway. When entering the front door though, you found yourself in front of the staircase leading up to Mimi’s bedroom through a small hallway. From it was her bathroom, then was the laundry room and a tiny bedroom behind it. Downstairs, on your right was the formal living room, right behind it was the formal dining room with a double-faced wood burning fireplace, next to it the full bath and the entry to the farmhouse kitchen that Leanne's dad had built. This room had a row of cups that Mimi collected for all her kids and grandkids, hanging on tiny hooks just off the mantle. Opposite the built-in kitchen cabinets was a picture window looking out onto the patio. Off the kitchen was the family room that was frequently used, above it the dorm room that served as a bedroom for the kids.

The window looking out to the patio had a carved wooden figurine standing on the windowsill: a cow. I think that and the row of cups was my most Favorite part of the house. Next to the window was a hutch that had all the pies placed on top over Thanksgiving.

Oh, Thanksgiving was a whole other affair for this family. All family members came for a number of days. It's true, Thanksgiving is likely a bigger holiday here than Christmas. Everyone liked cooking here, food was and still is a big deal for the family, so typically they were searching for recipes for the turkey and the sides weeks or even months before the holiday took place. With all family members, kids with spouses and grandkids there, there were at least 20 people, so it was noisy, but it was fun. It reminded me somewhat of some of our family gatherings back home, but those were mostly about work done together, like processing livestock and then having a nice dinner at the end of the day, this was fancier, it was like in movies, especially that these times there was fire in the fireplace and everyone was dressed in their Sunday bests.

The day normally consisted of the turkey cooking competition and games out in the yard for the kids, which was American football, of course. At the beginning of dinner there was always a speech that stated what we were thankful for and after we had to vote for the best turkey. Traditionally there were 3 turkeys made. One by Spencer, one by Josh outside, smoked and one at Belle's house, where I believe Paul took responsibility for cooking.

Time went by fast, and we started talking about Christmas and New Year. It was strange that we were going to be away from home on Christmas, but we were looking forward to the experience. We were spending it in Prestown this time, not Upstate. With kids it doesn't really matter if it's a holiday or weekend, they need to be taken care of. As our workday was wrapping up, the kids' mom approached us in the kitchen while the whole of the extended family gathered in their living room. Someone built a fire in the fireplaces, that got the fire alarms going and soon a big red fire truck arrived and they went through every bit of the house. That surely made the evening memorable.

Soon New Year's Eve approached, which was a totally different experience, because my cousin invited me over to their New Year's Eve party in Chicago. It was really fun, and I felt valued as I was included in conversations, jokes and laughter.

First published on my website on May 1st, 2025.
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