Thanksgiving with George Washington

“Everybody!! George Washington is here!” Lilly screamed, her usually quiet, sweet and serene voice was now loud and panicked. She whirled around, her long brown hair flying. Her light blue eyes scanned the table opposite of the front door. The long table was laden with creamy white plates on top of a lacy white table cloth. Orange, crimson, and gold paper napkins cheerfully sat on the plates, making the table feel as if it was a mirror of the multicolored trees outside. Candles surrounded the turkey, mashed potatoes, pudding, and assortment of delicious treats in the middle of the table. My family sat around the table- Grandma Jan, Grandpa Doug, Aunt Cassidy, Uncle Frank, their kids, Jenny, Jeff and Jessy. I finally saw my mother and father enter the room, pulling their chairs out and sitting down. They all wore masks, Covid is happening of course, and my family is huge on “safety first”. 

I whirled around as I heard a knock on the door. I flew it open quickly, about to welcome the famous George Washington graciously into our home, as my parents had instructed me of course. My words died in my throat as I saw what he was wearing, or, what he was not wearing. He had on a regular shirt, regular pants, regular shoes, even regular socks. He didn’t have a mask. I heard a gasp behind me, one of my family members must have spotted this too. I glanced at the huge sign saying, “Masks have to be worn on this property, cover the mouth and the nose.” I caught my voice as I heard my mother get out of her seat and grab the box of masks sitting by the front door. 

“Here you go Mr. Washington, sir.” She said, her voice, like Lillys, soft, calm and quiet. He stood there for a few seconds then eventually he carefully grabbed one, putting it on. A mask looked silly with his white, crazy hair and stern face. 

“Thank you.” He said in a deep voice, he sounded like he had a slight British accent. 

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Me and my mother stepped aside, letting him walk in. Everybody stood up, saluting. I rolled my eyes, glad that I didn't have such a ridiculous reaction to the famous man not two steps before me. 

“Thank you for coming to our thanksgiving table sir-” My dad said, getting rudely cut off as George Washington grunted,

“George.” Dad looked taken aback, 

“Umm, yes sir,” He took a second to gather himself before taking a deep breath and saying, “George, we are very glad to share this meal that has been prepared. Fun Fact- the men at this table made this food, not the women. We strongly believe that women should not be burdened with the weight of having to be the post of the family.” I glanced around at the rest of my family who were nodding vigorously while looking at George Washington- George I mean- who did not look impressed at all. He grumbled, 

“The women knew their place back in my day, they cooked, they cleaned, but we had mutual respect. You men do not respect women if you believe that they should sit with their feet up while you tend to their every need.” My head shot up- looking to see what my family's reaction was. The men looked shocked and sheepish, the women looked like they were about to go into battle and the kids had a look of shock on their face. Well, I assumed this, based on their eyes, I couldn't totally tell, because of their masks. Behind my mask was a look of amusement, my grin was so wide that the mask felt like it would burst. I believe that my family has the best intentions, but still, I did agree with George. 

“Well, lets eat.” My mother said, her voice slightly icy. 

We all sat down, put on the gloves that were set nicely beside our plate, and loaded our plates full of food. My mother continually reminded us that, “safety first” and “children should not fill their own plates because you are messy and irresponsible with germs.” I looked around, everybody ready and alert. My father motioned towards George,

“You can go first sir.” He said, and he did the inevitable. He took his mask off. 

I heard a collective intake of breath around the whole table. I glanced at everybody's eyes. I quickly tried to save the day by doing what my father was wanting him to do in the first place. I slid the other mask by my plate onto my face. I masterly maneuvered it just right so that when I opened my mouth wide enough there was a slot where I could shovel food into my mouth. It only took a few seconds and I thought that it would help the whole situation, but believe me, it didn’t. 

“Lilly Elizabeth Roberts!!! You took your mask off while someone else did!! You are getting tested this very second!!” My mother screamed. As she said this she absent mindedly picked up her spoon and stood up, throwing it onto her plate. This would not have been a problem if her plate was empty, but it was overflowing with food. Mashed potatoes flew everywhere, gravy splashing all the way across the room, hitting the front door. The worst of it hit George Washington. 

I have seen dozens and dozens of pictures of him, I have read thousands of articles and books about him. All of them stated how amazing of a general he was. He led the U.S. in defeating the British, this man was one you do not mess with. I stared down at my plate, scared of what would happen next. It felt like minutes had passed. At last, what I heard surprised me so much that I fell backwards off my chair. 

He was laughing, hysterically. 

He slowly picked up his spoon, full of mashed potatoes and green beans, he flung it at her. Her face was full of shock for a few seconds, then she picked up the basket of rolls and started pegging people with them, laughing even more hysterically. We all were roaring with laughter now, flinging food everywhere! 

After ten minutes of ultimate chaos, including a sneak attack from General George and my cousins, Jenny, Jeff and Jessy, we were settling down. 

I went to the bathroom and pulled green, slimy goop out of my hair. I thought back to thanksgivings before George came. I was going to invite him back every single year, maybe even for Christmas. Who knows, he makes things more exciting around here.