The holidays are a time for celebrating, spending time with family and making happy memories. Some of the best memories, however, occur when the celebrating doesn’t go quite as planned. One Christmas, our freshly cut tree flew off the car roof at 60 MPH! My dad made us spend the remaining two hour drive holding ropes through the windows to keep it on. We still talk about that every Christmas!
The Walker family in Katy had their own little misadventure this past Easter. The holiday meal was over and the Walker’s three children, along with the neighbor’s two kids, were excited to hunt Easter eggs before coming back in to eat their neighbor’s handmade from scratch bunny cake, complete with a beautiful coconut topping and bunny face. In their rush to get outside, the adults forgot to move the cake to higher ground so that Maggie, their Vizsla, couldn’t get to it. So of course, she did. The egg hunters came back inside to find most of the cake gone and a very guilty looking Maggie crouching in the corner. The adults cut off the surviving bits of cake for the disappointed kids while Maggie continued to hide in the corner and avoid all eye contact. But in the end, everyone got their cake! And Maggie’s mom says she should have known better. The 6 year old Vizsla has a voracious appetite and has been known to inhale entire batches of sugar cookies, jalapeno poppers (with disastrous results) and even the kids’ meals!
In 2010, Katy residents Justine and Harry Hitt were living in Waco and excited to head to Houston to be with their families for the Thanksgiving holiday when one of Harry’s professors severely misunderstood the meaning of “Black Friday” and scheduled a test that day. Celebrating the holiday in Houston with their loved ones was derailed but it was quickly decided that everyone would come to Waco. Never mind that they would be hosting their first ever Thanksgiving dinner in an ancient 700 square foot rental that proudly boasted its original interior design. Or that their brand new neighbor was most definitely a drug dealer. Family was coming and it was time to get ready! Justine spent the evening baking pies and went to bed. Upon waking the next morning, all hell broke loose. Overnight, the cats had attacked her pies and regurgitated them all over the sofa. The previous day’s mild weather had taken a plunge, ruining her plans to host the meal in the backyard. But family arrived, poured mimosas and cooked – and her dad even met the next door drug dealer in the driveway and exchanged a few recipes! In the end, a series of mishaps that threatened to ruin their holiday did just the opposite.
Happy Holidays to you all! I hope they remain full of good food, cheer and perhaps a Christmas tree flying through the air to keep your loved ones laughing for years.
By Cassidy Raymond
