Surviving Thanksgiving

Well its over. I said goodbye to my husband this morning at 3am. He left with a brave handsome face and a good tie to face Black Friday. I said goodbye to my parents and sent them off over the Blue Mountains in a horrible freezing rain. Here I sit, still in the new jammies that my parents got me for Christmas. I can't help but wonder how I ended up so incredibly blessed. I sit here in this beautiful house in my jammies only because of my husband who willingly got up at 3 am and does so unfailingly every year. Yesterday as I fussed with my makeup and hair, 300 miles away a woman not so different from me had her beautiful dark brown hair shaved completely off in preperation for the side effects of the chemo she is undergoing. Everywhere I look I see people I love struggling with situations in their lives as I seem to sit here untouched by most of everything. It makes me wonder why. It makes me reevaluate my participation in lessening the pain and the hurt my friends and family feel. Do I do enough? Do I do anything? What should I do? And how can I ever justify feeling down about ANYTHING in my life. I haven't worked for it, its all been given to me. I sit here wanting for nothing except a piece of leftover pie for breakfast. That will be quickly remedied by a short walk to the kitchen. My cup runeth over. Happy Thanksgiving!

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I Am Thankful for...

It looks as if I should be thankful I have so much going on that I don't have time to sit here and document them.

I have found myself costume designer/coordinator for the Nutcracker on Ice. My life will be a blur of red maracas' and flaminco hats until after the show. I am not sure how I ended up being *the one* but there is nothing I dislike more than a bunch of parents staring at the ground when asked for participation. Well except maybe spiders... I dislike spiders more than that.

I Am Thankful for...

My baby...

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If All My Blessings Were At This Table...

For the next couple weeks as I prepare for Thanksgiving I have decided to log them as I think of them...

A small visitor came today...

I *think* it was a Perigrin (sp) but I couldn't find my bird book. He perched watching over the garden for over an hour. I didn't dare go outside to shoot pictures in case he would get skittish and fly away. The pictures don't do him justice. They were taken through admittedly dirty windows.

'Tis the Season to Pay Others to Make Things Jolly!!!

For better or worse the Christmas light guy is coming on Thursday. We don't officially light the house until Thanksgiving night after dessert. I promise the world that I will only plug them in once Thursday night to make sure all is well. Then I will hide the extention cord until Thanksgiving.

Today My Son is My Hero

My 15 year old son is the pickiest hair person in the world. From day one he had to have his hair perfect. What did my son with the perfect hair do? He went to Hair Masters and had his head shaved in support of his sweet step mom. When he wasn't looking I took some of his beautiful perfect hair and hid it away. I am going to write a letter to him and stick it with the hair and put it in his box of memories that he doesn't even know he has.

I love you son.

She's got cancer...

The one woman whom my children love as much as me is their step mother. She has always been kind and loving to my kids. She has treated them exactly as her own. She has cared for them when they were sick. Disiplined them when they were bad. Loved them during it all. I have often said that if we were in a different situation I would want to be lunch friends. She is an all around good egg.

How does a young woman of 40 and in good health end up with cancer? I know very little about what is happening. I do know she will start chemo soon.

I am frightened for my kids who still remember losing their grandmother to lung cancer 10 years ago. I know its on their minds. It certainly is on mine.

Embracing My Inner Evil Queen ....

Halloween is our holiday here.   Although every holiday is acknowledged Halloween reigns supreme.  The devil be damned we like the ambience, the mystery, the possibility of something evil jumping out of the fog.   We remember our youth and spend hours talking about how it was back in the day.    I can only hope that my kids will find themselves doing the same thing in 30 years.