Happy Thanksgiving

My perspective on the Thanksgiving holiday has changed over the last few years, and not just because I have kids. When we were little, for as long as I can remember, we had Thanksgiving at my Grandmother's house every year. It was always the entire family on my mom's side- 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 4 cousins, my grandmother of course, and our clan of 5. We had all the traditional food, ate until we were stuffed, the boys watched football, the kids played in the yard, and the women would go shopping or work on some Christmas craft. To me, Thanksgiving always meant family. I cannot remember a Thanksgiving that we were not with some of our family.

For the last 3 Thanksgivings, Nathan has been working at Brackenridge Hospital, and therefore has had to work on Thanksgiving. He could have requested off, but then he would have had to work Friday and we would still not be able to travel anywhere, so we have chosen to ask off for Christmas instead. Each year we have still tried to make the holiday special in some way. We usually cook a "semi-traditional" thanksgiving meal (minus the turkey and dressing- I am not there yet in my cooking) on Friday. We talk about what we are thankful for. We pick out our Christmas tree and start decorating. Honestly, I was disappointed to be away from family the first year, but it was fun to plan our own meal and start our own traditions. I miss being in a full house on Thanksgiving day, but it is nice to have some quiet family time. All-in-all I have come to accept it and enjoy it.

But it is different. While Thanksgiving still focuses on our family, it is not in the same way it was when I was younger. It is a reminder to me of how all things in life change and we are to be thankful everyday for the blessings God has given us.

Having said all this, I was approaching Thursday morning with a small amount of self-pity, but mostly acceptance and resolve to make it a good day for my boys. We were planning to go to lunch with Nathan, have a fun meal of appetizer foods that evening, and watch a family movie. It sounded like a good day...then I woke up...Here is how my morning went.

6:45- tucker crying, time to start the day
7- Tucker still crying- has a cough, stuffy nose, and a slight fever
8:30- send Griffin to the bathroom to get a warm wash rag for tucker, who is still crying, to wash the banana off his neck from breakfast
8:32- Tucker stops crying and follows griffin to the bathroom. I use this rare opportunity to check my email
8:35- Hear screaming from the bathroom. Go in and Tucker and Griffin are both standing on a small stepstool by the sink. Griffin is screaming cause he doesnt want Tucker on the stool. Tucker is crying cause griffin is screaming. The water is running in the sink and there is a full sized beach towel soaking wet in the sink. Guess I should have known better.
8:45- try to rock tucker to put him down for a nap
9-Lay tucker down for a nap
9:20 Tucker finally quiets and goes to sleep.
10- Tucker wakes up...you guessed it, still crying
10:15- Call Nathan crying- decide to take Tucker into after hours clinic. Make an apt for 11:40, which means we will miss lunch with Nathan. Cry some more
10:30- Tucker is playing- decide to wait about the dr and go to lunch with Nathan after all

after that, the day got much better. We had a nice lunch, the boys took a nap, and Nathan got off early. The evening went as planned

If you are still reading this (which I doubt-this was mostly for me anyway) then here are the things that I was reminded today to be Thankful for:

I am thankful for:

a 3 year old who, although he doesnt always get it right, is a BIG help and is smart enough to do things to help his mommy and is sweet enough to play with his baby brother

an 11 month old who will snuggle on his mommy, takes good naps when he is not sick, and loves his older brother

children who occasionally get a cold, but otherwise are healthy

a husband who is willing to work on a holiday to provide for our family, and to use PTO hours to get off early when he knows his wife has had a bad day

a home to keep us warm and food on the table (even if it isnt turkey and dressing)

family who, although we are not with them in person, are always there for us

a God who loves us, provides for us, strengthens us, and challenges us


and if you are STILL reading, here are a few pictures from Griffin's Thanksgiving feast. His class were the Indians and Ms Summer's class was the pilgrims, or as Griffin told me, "The Grumbles".