Thanksgiving Gratitude

From November 22 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's 9:00 am on a cold Thanksgiving morning, and I'm sitting here drinking some hot chocolate and checking some email, typing blog entries, and chatting with a newly found internet acquaintance. It's not a bad morning really. Soon though I'll have to jump in the shower and get ready for the day's festivities - I'm tagging along with my brother and sister-in-law and their family to her aunt's house. Our family tradition for thanksgiving has changed and in some ways it's nice to have change, but in other ways I miss what we used to do.

Thanksgiving seems to be becoming one of those lost holidays anymore. Christmas usually starts way too early for me, and the focus is more on the shopping opportunities during this weekend rather than a spirit of gratitude. But maybe once I've experienced the day, it will be just as rewarding as this morning had been -- peaceful! Which is always something to be grateful for!!

And on this cold but relaxing Thanksgiving morning, I noticed I had yet another really insightful horoscope for the day. I quite often fight the inner battle of what is the "right" thing to do versus what I really want to do. Why can't they be one in the same? And sometimes I think I do confuse what's "right" with what feels safe instead of venturing out there. Hmmm. I'll have to think on that some more.

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18
It's time that you give yourself what you need, dear Aquarius. Your desires don't always go in the direction that does you the most good, and this can cause some tension. You often feel as though it is impossible to combine your desires with what is good for you, notably in your love life. You wrestle with whether you should remain in your "creative" cave or share your life with someone. Does it really have to be one or the other?

GIVING THANKS

FROM NOVEMBER 2006
I know I'm over a week late with this entry, but I still wanted to reflect a little bit on my Thanksgiving. This year Thanksgiving was different than what I had gotten used to from the past few years. Traditionally, I have gone to my brother's house where his family cooks a great meal and I hang out all day, playing games, etc. This year I geared up for the same event, purchasing a few of the ingredients needed to make the dishes that I have been asked to bring for several years in a row.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, my mom called to ask what I was doing for Thanksgiving. I replied that I planned to do what I usually did (which is also where she goes). She had said she hadn't heard from my sister-in-law yet. I told her that she probably didn't need to worry, I hadn't heard from her yet either. My sister-in-law is sometimes a bit last minute when it comes to these things, and so I hadn't really worried about it. So my mom said she'd give her a call just to make sure they were carrying through with their traditional plans. Shortly after my mom called to tell me that they had decided to go to my sister-in-law's aunts this year and not cook a dinner at their house.

I was a bit ticked. She could have called us, a week before even, to let us know so we could make alternative plans. But I began to realize that I shouldn't be so quick to assume I can just show up at someone's house to be fed. And I could have called her to check in just as well. The next morning my sister-in-law called to apologize for forgetting about us. I accepted her apology but denied her invitation to join them at her aunts house.

So for Thanksgiving I joined my mom at her house, where I grew up. We didn't have turkey or the usual "fixings". But it was still a very nice dinner. And best of all, I spent some quality time with my mom alone. It's not that I don't have the opportunity to spend time with her, it's that I don't take the opportunity as often as I should. After we ate, we spent some time reviewing some of the family history that she has so much of. I helped her burn copies of some onto discs that she wants to give to family for Christmas. I also burned her some of my Christmas music that I had stored on my computer. And all along the way she jabbered (as usual) about many different things. Sometimes her jabbering gets a bit tiring... and yet I remind myself that she won't always be here and I should be thankful for the moments that I get to hear her talk of the many things she is doing.

It was a great day and I felt very thankful for the way it turned out.

CRAZY BUSY LIFE!

FROM NOVEMBER 2006
Wow, I hadn't realized how long it had been since I wrote an entry in my blog. Guess it goes to show where I'm spending my time... or at least where I'm not spending my time and that is on my computer. I usually like to get online, check email and check out a singles site that I have a profile onto see who's new there and who's checked me out ;). And then I flit around a bit to different sites, including those that I pay my bills on or my checking. And once in a while I find someone interesting or an old friend to chat with. But lately, I'm lucky if I get to check my mail. I think it's just par for the season.

Speaking of the upcoming season, I've already started my Christmas shopping, which is particularly amazing for me, since I don't usually do so until after Thanksgiving. And to make it even better, while out of town this weekend for work, I actually made quite some progress on it. I only have a couple of people to buy for now! I'm in shock and quite pleased with myself. Some of this may have to do with the fact that I'm really cutting back this year. Money is tight with my new house payment and with all the hospital bills rolling in. So, I am trying to be creative and lower key this year. It's hard, since in the past I've been used to spending a bit more. Sorry friends and family... it just ain't happenin' this year! To quote my niece: "It's not the gifts we receive, but the time we get to spend with family that matters." I'll add friends to that too... since I love my friends as much as my family.

Thanksgiving is this upcoming week... wow the month has gone by quickly. I really do enjoy Thanksgiving. Many times, I enjoy it so much more than Christmas. There's not so much stress involved. Just a nice dinner to pull loved ones together. Of course I may be a bit spoiled since I don't ever host the event, but crash my brother's festivities. I do contribute a couple of items to the meal, but they do a great job of preparing all the rest.

Well I suppose this is enough rambling for now. I need to post my last scrapbook/journal page that I created for October's group meeting. I will do that soon ............... hopefully. lol I haven't even started my assigned page for November. sigh.
Be Back Soon