DrFinale's Blog: Crab Day 2006

So, today was the infamous crab day, one of the odder Mom's Family-side traditions.

So, what is crab day, you ask?

Traditionally, it is the Sunday before Labor Day, generally the last celebration before school starts. I always think of it as the opposite of the Family Picnic, which usually marks the end of the school year and the beginning of summer. It is the last major family gathering before the holidays. It's a Mom's-Side family gathering, which means a lot of people. The party is hosted by my Mommom and Poppop at their house. Our family, and the families of my mom's two brothers and sister attend. The main feature of the day is (you guessed it), crabs! Poppop buys a bunch of crabs, and you break them up and eat them. For those who are grossed out by 'sea spiders,' as Meg calls them, there are also burgers and dogs, corn-on-the-cob, and various side dishes.

Another major part of crab day is the beginning of another family tradition: The Christmas Pollyanna. As you can gather, my family is quite big. In total, just on my mom's side, I have 9 cousins, 2 cousin-in-laws, 2 1st cousins-once-removed, 3 aunts, 3 uncles, and 2 grandparents. Almost all where in attendance today, along with my immediate family. Well, anyway, years ago, my family realized that it was a real hassle to buy Christmas gifts for all of those people. So, every year at Crab Day, we fill out a piece of paper with your name, and a list of $20 gift suggestions. Everyone puts their name in a basket, and then chooses another one. If you get someone in your immediate family, you put it back and draw again (because you would be getting them a gift anyway). Also, my Mommom and Poppop do not participate, as everyone gets them a gift too. Once you draw a name, you have to keep it secret, and remember to hold on to it until you do your Christmas shopping. (This was a problem for us last year).

This crab day was like most other. Laura and Sean were moving back to college today, so they weren't around, which was a bit of a bummer at first, but entertained we were. It's been a bit of a baby-boom around here. Or little kid, at least. First, you have my adopted cousins Ronny and Erica. Ronny turns 6 this month, and Erica is 5. Then, you have my cousin Shannon's daughter Chrstin--she's 2. My other cousin Mike has a daughter named Gabby, who will be 1 around the time our baby is due. We also found out today, the Mike, and his wife Sam, are expecting again around March. So, there will be TWO more babies at next year's crab day.

Other than that, we ate a lot, took pictures, got caught up, and like usual with my family, laughed a lot. And like that, another crab day has passed, another school year begins. At this point, I am trying not to let it hit me, but it does seem a little weird that tomorrow is my last day of summer. It's just so weird, because you look SO forward to summer in June. You get this, "last time for this class, last time to get up early, last time to drive to work" idea, which is really not right. It seems like summer will last forever, and then when it ends, you realize how fast it went. As I unpacked my school stuff, the memories of last school year didn't seem that far away. It was hard to imagine that a long, relaxing and productive summer occurred between now and then. I suppose this gets easier as you teach longer and years and summers pass by. But for now, it is still a little weird. But I am not gonna let it get me down this year. My first year teaching, at my old school, I was nervous about starting teaching, and therefore was dreading the start of the school year. The next year, I was starting at a new school, was nervous about that, and therefore dreading the start of the school year. I had such a bad year, that last summer, I was dreading having to go back. This past year went much better. It's my third year there, I am prepared, I know the kids, I am getting better at dealing with behavior problems, so I have no reason to be nervous. This makes starting the school year much easier.

As for my last day of summer, I am not sure how I will spend it. Hopefully the weather is nice, so I can spend sometime outside. I refuse to do anything school-related tomorrow, except for to pack my school bag at night, and go over the agenda for the in-services. I don't wanna do too much house work, nor do I want to waste the day away on the computer. Perhaps I'll spend the day with Meg. The worse part about school is that, for 7 hours a day, I am not with Meg. Yeah, yeah, you probably think it is really cheesy and sappy, but that is how I feel. It is even harder at the beginning of the school year, because in the summer, Meg and I spend pretty much every minute together. When school starts, I really miss having her around. I feel even worse for her, because she doesn't start till 9/14. At least I'll be at school, and occupying my time there. Meg will be at home alone with Max--he's still good company though.

So that's decided, I'm spending time doing things with Meggie tomorrow, because that is what I'll miss the most about the school year.

Oh, here's some pictures of Crab Day...

Gabby, Erica, and Christin: 3 members of the Baby Boom

Ronny, opening up his gift from us (oh, I forgot to mention, Crab Day is also Ronny's family birthday party)

See more pictures on our Picasa Web Album: