DAY 242, WEDNESDAY, JAN 12, 2011 PART 2

     They all looked great. Grandma Clara was at the stove, making a pot of Chicken Soup. I watched the foam rise to the top, she lowered the temperature on the big pot and skimmed some of the fat off. She put it into an old metal coffee can, and as she looked at me she said, “Shmaltz, its the secret to the latkes, don't tell.” I smiled, gave her a kiss on her cheek, and watched the carrots, chicken, onions and water simmer as they were turning into the greatest meal you could enjoy. A bag of thin noodles was at the ready, and a pot of boiling water awaited them when the soup would be closer to completion. The smell in the kitchen was fantastic.
     Grandpa Joe sat at the table in his usual chair. The dining room was attached to the kitchen in the house, and Joe was always at the kitchen table, not the dining room table. He was saying something about a piece of Flanken he had brought home from the Kosher market. "It was a beauty, I am sure the big shots will love it." Grandma Clara was going to cook that into a brisket, and serve that with carrots and egg noodles as well in a rich brown gravy. These noodles also were on the counter, wider, and the same brand as the soup noodles. Clara explained that these had to be made separately, and they were not interchangeable. With the snow falling, it was lucky she had them both at hand. I heard some noise from the den, so I went to check it out.
     Dressed in dinner attire were my other Grandparents, and a woman that I couldn't make out at first. Abe and Gert had never had dinner at my Grandpa Joe and Grandma Clara's house. I had no idea as to why they had come. I said hello, Gert gave me a peckish kiss on one cheek while Grandpa Abe punched me in the arm hello. They had driven in from Manhattan for dinner. I had no clue as to why they braved the storm for Chicken soup, brisket and potato pancakes, but they were there. Gert was on the phone, chatting to someone, and Abe was watching the TV as the Knicks were playing. Almost surreal, I figured I had done something wrong to warrant all these Grandparents at one time. I asked how everyone was, and Abe grunted at me "Fine." Gert asked me about mu brothers and sisters, and said that she had seen all the Great grandkids. She was very proud. Out of the corner of my eye, on the reclining chair that he had next to the trundle bed that I slept on when visiting was a woman that I couldn't place at first. More people, festive, I went over to say hi. Two steps, it was a small den, and my Grandma Freida gave me a hug. She  told me her mother Rose couldn't make dinner, as the snow had her stuck in with my Aunt Miriam in Brooklyn. This was getting odd, and my head was spinning.
    Five Grandparents at once, in your face all at the same time could scare the pants off anyone. I knew the Chicken soup was good, and that the pancakes were awesome with the homemade apple sauce and all, but being alone with all this family was going to be a tough meal for me. Where were my siblings, and what was the occasion,....
     I shoveled for 30 minutes, as my neighbor with the snow plow gave us a great head start. All done, I am inside resting as Sue finishes up and makes it neat. I am not sure if I lost consciousness for the meal above, but with my jacket on, tight hood, a cap from Beaches, the wind cold and the lifting, I could swear the meal was started and finished while resting on the mound of snow I moved. Sipping a bottle of water and hoping to not have to go back for dessert with my grandparents. They all looked great, just as I had remembered each of them before their funerals. I miss them, and as I shoveled I realized it was not my time to join them.
     Keep the weight on your fat asses, and take your time with the losing plan, no rush. The way I figure it, if we have already met, and something should happen to you, I will remember you just as well. If we have never met, then it has been fun. If you are serious about your health, as I have become over the past 240 days, then pacing yourself to getting healthy is fucking stupid. I must say I miss the soup the most, and my arm aches for a tap from Abe....No rush people, but....