New England November

Well, not back to high school. For some reason this week has reminded me of 1986, when Mom and Dad visited me for about three weeks in November. David was on his last tour of duty under the sea. I had to work Thanksgiving Day. My parents stayed with me this month before David returned home at Christmastime.
New England has less cloudy, dreary days than western Pennsylvania. The sun rises earlier in the morning, as I had mentioned before because of where it is in the time zone, very eastern part. A friend from community college called at eight in the morning on one of the first days after Mom and Dad arrived. Mom remarked,"They get up early here, huh?" She wasn't much of a morning person. The sunny days we're having remind me of the day trips we took on my days off during those three weeks. I suppose liking businesses on Face book from Connecticut is helping with the nostalgia.
Long drives on the coast, through quaint towns, like Niantic on the Atlantic. Shopping at department stores. Eating lunch somewhere.
I had bought a long royal blue dress coat earlier. Mom suggested I buy black gloves, scarf and hat set to complement it. Dad agreed. We really loved to shop.
I also had streph throat while they stayed at my apartment. I remember laying on our plaid loveseat by the large arched window in the late fall sun. So comforting while you're sick to have parents taking care of you.
Dad fixed the Thanksgiving dinner, while I worked day turn. One of the nurses grumped about working because her family ate dinner at noon, no matter what. I realized how blessed I was to have parents who loved me so much to travel in not the best month to take a vacation to be with their little girl at Thanksgiving while her husband served at sea.- Hmm, maybe this is a good Veteran's Day post.
The snow fell hard one night before a day off. The roads were clear, the sun shone bright. We twisted up old back roads to Old Sturbridge Village about an hour away. The "villagers" prepared for the big holiday, Thanksgiving. I think this helped me realize that Christmas had not always held the American heart . At least in New England, Thanksgiving gathered the people.
We ate lunch in a little restaurant in the Village of bean soup and Indian pudding. I could eat some Indian pudding, now. I prefer it warm with French vanilla ice cream. I have the recipe in The Old Farmer's Almanac Colonial Cookbook I got when I lived there. A little corn meal, molasses, scalded milk, egg, cold milk and spices, bake for two hours. I never made it, but maybe I will this fall.
Christmas decorating started when Mom and Dad remained, but they headed back in early December. I only had finals and David to look forward to. This was David's last cruise. He would be on shore duty until his service was up in May of the coming year. Navy life and life in New England would come to an end.