Dr. Brobst’s children visit Vienna for Thanksgiving

For three years, our youngest son, Ben, and his wife, Katie, have been trying to come to Vienna to experience the Christmas markets. They are finally here! It is always nice to have family visit us, but it’s especially a treat when it falls during the holidays.

American Thanksgiving is a day when families make it a priority to spend time together and to enjoy a huge turkey with all the fixings. Traditions include watching football, tuning in to the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, and then falling asleep after eating too much. I remember one Thanksgiving over 30 years ago that made us say that we would never travel again over Thanksgiving weekend. (It’s the busiest time on the road in the US.) Here’s the story in a nutshell:

Our family of five, with kids ages 2, 6, and 7, piled into our minivan and drove all the way from New Hampshire to New Jersey to spend the holiday with my husband’s parents. It was probably about a six-hour drive. On the way home, we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic heading into the bridge in New York. Our minivan had a clutch, and all the stopping and starting caused it to start smoking and then to die. We were stranded with three little ones. Remember, this was before the days of cell phones. A tow truck picked us up, towed our van to this hole-in-the-wall fixit shop, and then dropped us at the closest hotel (which was super fancy). We grabbed some stuff as fast as we could from the back of the van. Everything was dirty. We looked like a bunch of vagabonds sitting in their hotel lobby.

We had one room, so the kids were on the floor. There was a pool, but we didn’t have bathing suits. All we had was a pack of cards and the TV to keep the kids busy while we waiting for them to fix the car the next day. Without a vehicle, we had to eat in the hotel’s fancy restaurant, complete with crystal glasses just for the water. The kids only wanted McDonald’s. We were so out of place. When we look back on it, it was quite funny.

Actually, one of the parts that makes me laugh was when we went to get into the front of the tow truck. Our youngest, Ben, was a big two-year-old boy, just like his dad. I climbed in first, but the seat was really high up off the ground. I leaned out to pick up Ben, but his weight pulled me right out of the truck head first into the gutter. I landed on top of him laughing hysterically. The tow truck driver got into the cab and then couldn’t figure out where we had gone. He was in a panic that we were hurt and that he was going to get sued! It really was quite humorous. 

Today Ben is almost 2 meters tall and is a really low-key, fun guy. The school’s social committee sponsored a Thanksgiving potluck meal so we brought Ben and Katie here to school for everyone to meet and to enjoy the food together. We are so thankful that Ben and Katie can be with us this week. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Because of His Faithfulness,

Dr. Sharon Brobst. Director