To be perfectly honest, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending Thanksgiving in Iowa. The election was still a little to recent, and for us it's personal -- key components of the Republican agenda is to back out of the Paris Agreement (which Allen worked on extensively) and repeal the ACA (which I worked on somewhat) not to mention they keep suggesting we're swamp dwellers. Knowing that my home state of Iowa voted in such a way, felt a bit like a personal affront, but then knowing to get to Iowa we have to drive through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana? Well that just seemed like the 2016 version of the Trail of Tears.
But given that the alternative was staying in DC and the fact that deep down, we are Iowans and as such, to quote Dar Williams, "we don't like to make our passions other people's concern," we made the drive.
We kept things fairly low-key, and my parents largely handled us with kid gloves. Allen ventured out a bit more, and had a couple of conversations that were frustrating to say the least, but for the most part, Thanksgiving was a welcome distraction from the reality we faced back home: there was a ditch digging project at the pond to distract Allen (and the kids); an awards ceremony for corn eating; baking; and lots of silliness.
But mostly there was family, which as Dar Williams also says, can fix a broken heart.
(To see all the pictures, please click here.)