SUDDENLY SUNDAY

Today I am cooking a traditional Thanksgiving dinner ... for five!  It is 32 degrees and very sunny.  It just couldn't get any better.

Here's why:

THE CLOSENESS OF FAMILY

My kidult and her little family and big dog spent three nights here at the condo.  It was constant noise and clutter and meals and snacks and games and laughter and laundry.  And I loved it.

Little boys just grow up too fast.  I need to have these special relationships in my life right now.  And I'm actually thinking of starting a Grandson Blog!  Out of the mouths of babes.  They soak up so much knowledge while they are young.  So by golly if Braeden doesn't want to spend the night alone at Gramma's ... I'm inviting them all.  

Braeden and Dadda are learning how to geocache.  Apparently there is a website that lists map coordinates so you can use a compass to hunt for treasures.  Sometimes buried, sometimes in a tree or pole and sometimes under a rock.  He loves getting dressed in his camo costume for this man job!!!

Mr. Little Guy just keeps me smiling.  He gets so proud of himself when he overcomes an obstacle or finds another way to crawl under the end tables even though I've blocked them.  This is my REAL elf on a shelf .....

AWKWARD AFTERMATH

Thanksgiving Day was fun for me.  Even though I did overeat during my second meal.

Gary is an extraordinary cook.  Every single item was gourmet to the nth degree.  Including my stuffing.  It was actually a recipe from The Pioneer Woman blog.  Modified a bit on the herbs in favor of ones I like better.  Oh my goodness it was even better than my Mom's.

Needless to say the rest of the evening was a comatose state of carb overload.

And watching some cute boys ...

FAMILY, FRIENDS, FOOD

Thanksgiving was Mr. Ralph's favorite holiday.  

He loved entertaining so our home was filled to the brim at Thanksgiving.  Many folks were from his office who were new to the area.  Young friends, old friends.  Occasionally friends from other countries who do not celebrate this food filled day were included!  It's an odd holiday to explain ... and of course now we shouldn't even BE celebrating.  Poor Christopher ... how did he go from being so hailed he had his own holiday?  Where did people find the information to dethrone him ... 500 years later ... oh, that's another blog ....

Today I am thankful for family, friends and food.  I am lucky to have five siblings.  Fortunate to have my one and only kidult at age 34...and happy to have two sweet grandchildren who live nearby.  I have a wide circle of friends.  All kinds of friends.  And lots of friendly neighbors.

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!

SECOND THANKSGIVING WITHOUT HIM

God has blessed me far beyond that for which I am worthy.  

A friend wrote this one sentence on his Facebook wall.  With permission, I copied it word for word.  Because it is just so true.  Despite having such a huge loss in my life, I have been blessed by two little boys who are filling that hole part way up.

We have been having a family sleep over all week.  My days are numbered with an upcoming two week trip out of state ... to visit some of my BEST Maui pals who now live in Alabama, my brothers and sister, return for a week at condo then off to Maui for five months.  My heart is just not into heading to Paradise this year.  

It's busier here for me.  The family and especially the little ones keep the healing going strong.  My 30+ years of friends is coming back together.  My 95 year old buddy is not going to last forever.  Just know there is so much MORE here ... retail therapy, restaurants, movies, bookstores, road trips, scenery.  From Portland I can be at the Coast in 90 minutes or on top of Mt. Hood or in high desert country.

Maui was OUR special place.  So I'm just not sure how this will play out.

THANKFUL FOR THANKSGIVING

This year my little family and I are starting new traditions.  We will celebrate holidays before or after that "actual" date.  They have other family and friends and it was just too much last minute planning for this Awkward Widow.

Which puts me in the enviable position of weaseling my way in to other peoples "on the day" festivities.  Thanksgiving has worked out perfectly.  Mary Beth invited me to her fabulous manfriend's for a gourmet dinner.  All I have to bring is stuffing (my favorite!).  She visits her Mom in assisted living for an early turkey luncheon so our gathering will be a sophisticated 5:00 pm.

So when I got a last minute invitation to join Grandpa George for an 11:00 am turkey lunch, I could do both!  He is still trying to adjust to his new, more dependent assisted living.  His son and wife live in Denver and had planned to come but her father died so they have more urgent commitments.  Bendy, his daughter, was disappointed that it would be like any other day ... just her and her boyfriend and her Dad.  

While he needs the physical help of living in this wing of his retirement center, he is not at all happy about just staying in his little studio room.  He is the epitome of social.  I'm going to pop over early this evening to join him for his dessert ... and maybe a sip of Scotch.

It's getting harder and harder for me to think about being in Maui for five months.

GROWING

Being part of a village is so amazing to me.  The more involved I get, the more great people I meet.  Sometimes the red tape bothers me, as well as the S-L-O-W progress.  I forget that most of these people have other outlets for their community volunteering.  

We do have a tiny Facebook presence now and I saw this on another Village page.  It touched me.  Sometimes we just need a positive connotation to change our whole outlook.  Growing, not just getting older.

The past week I spent more time with people younger than me.  I think we all need the intergenerational friendships to help maintain perspective.  This morning it was very exciting to get a text from a former neighbor who is a sophomore at college and home for Thanksgiving.  She wanted to take me to lunch!  We got together once this summer as well.  It's so curious to me because she seems so shy.  And she was one of Mr. Ralph's favorites!  Friendship that is just meant to be.

I like to watch others growing!