Thanksgiving is plated 3 minutes early!

I was up at 5am, while I showered Tom made Laura and I breakfast. By 6:30am I was at work, time to hit the decks. We put the last minute touches on decorating for company. Then set to work on heating all the food, finishing the side dishes that were not yet done, making pot after pot of coffee, checking the silverware, dishes, making punch, ice tea and a long list of other things. I hollered orders to anybody that would help, we washed dishes, folded napkins, lined basket with napkins and basically in 5 & 1/2 hours had  a grand buffet set up 3 minutes early.

Today I made a point of letting the staff care for the ladies and gentlemen we are here to care for, while I set out to give them a feast. We did a few really smart things, we sent five of our most troublesome people out for a walk. They were told if they went for a nice long walk on the bike trail they could all have seconds. Burn the calories, then eat! It worked, they were happy because there was an award waiting for them. And for those that were left behind, we had Jess come in, to do a sing a long. She teaches voice lessons to 2 of our young men. So we have been having her come for parties, she does the sing a long with James playing the keyboard during the time when every body is most anxious about lunch.

Often at these parties it is more difficult to keep the staff away from the buffet, they are anxious to feed the people so they can eat themselves. Anyway the day went perfectly, almost no behavioral problems. They excepted no, when we had decided two plates was enough. The parents were almost all happy with the exception of one parent. She really always seems to need to find a problem with what we are doing for her child. My boss wanted to make sure we had foods on the buffet that were special for him, he is on a gluten free diet. She said that last year, Mom complained that we did not have gluten free foods for him. I said it would not matter what we did,she would find something wrong anyway. I was proven to be correct, she monopolized the room supervisors time, talking about possible medical problems and trying to come up with a problem. My biggest problem with her behavior is she talks over her son ignoring him through the whole event. If you are there to see your son, then visit with him, don't just look for problems. I swear to God, if there is a problem brewing, it will find her naturally. Please let it be about your son, not your need for attention.

I left program happy but exhausted today. My reward for all that hard work was the 40 happy people in our care and there parents. They were all very thankful. I am very thankful for all the staff that did step up to the plate and work side by side with me, working very hard to get the job done. For those that were to selfish to pitch in: I have only one thing to say! You my friend can be a disabled person within a few seconds at any time, we will never know what our future holds. So don't ever forget to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!