Thankful In the Midst of It All

Well, Thanksgiving hasn't gone as planned. It hasn't gone as any of the 4 different plans that we've had and changed. Brennan woke up throwing up at 5 a.m. this morning. His sickness has not been short lived. He is just now keeping some liquids down and resting. He had a flu shot yesterday, so I'm hoping at this point that we can blame that for his illness (and it will NOT be passed along). Mom called at 7:15 a.m. to pass along the news that my grandmother passed away. We had been told Monday night to expect this soon, but it doesn't make it much easier. At that point we were planning to have lunch at my parents, and Mike was going to take our food and bring back plates. Then Mom called back around 10 to say that she too was sick and lunch was canceled for now. I had already started the sweet potato casserole, a recipe passed along from my grandmother, so I made a small one for us and have a larger one ready when we do eat together. Mike's family is all out of town this year.

In the midst of all this, I find myself even more thankful. My day is much for focused on my thankfulness and less so on the feast we usually partake.  I'm thankful for the traditions that I know will now change, because they gave me a place in life. I'm thankful for the sadness I feel at losing both grandparents in the last seven months, because this sadness comes from getting to enjoy them in my life for so long. I'm thankful for the anchor they both have been to our family. I'm thankful that I will get to see all of my family this holiday season after all. I'm thankful for my precious little boy, who can manage to make us laugh even when he feels miserable. I'm thankful that his illness will go away quickly and he is overall a very healthy child. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who doesn't mind cleaning up messes and being a shoulder to cry on. I'm thankful for a dog who can bark loud enough to wake up a hard sleeping husband, and alert him that Brennan and I needed some help at his sickest point. I'm thankful for good shows on NBC today since I'm watching more TV than usual. I'm thankful for the people working today so that we will still have some turkey from somewhere. Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who has perfect timing and a perfect plan. He never gives us more than we can handle, and always provides us with the tools to manage each situation. I love traditions and think they have an important place in life, but isn't it ironic that in the absence of them the true meaning of this holiday has become the focus..

Thanksgiving 2010