Break out the cranberry sauce…it’s that time of year again

Next week is Thanksgiving. Derek and Brittany will be home from Colorado. Craig will be home from college (making that long ten minute drive). Jim will be off work.

They will all be home. I can’t wait to wake up knowing that everyone is home…what a wonderful feeling!

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was such a special time. You see, my family had moved to Indiana when my dad got a job at Mead Johnson (aka Bristol Myers). Both my mother and his families live in Oklahoma and so we didn’t get to see them very often. Each summer we would go there for a week on vacation, but that was the only time we got to see any of them. Except at Thanksgiving.

My dad’s father, mother, youngest sister and brother, and his grandmother would travel to our home for Thanksgiving. It was so exciting, watching for them to pull up in the driveway, rushing out to get hugs and kisses, spending the day shelling pecans for my mom’s pecan pie. It was such a great time. In the summer, I had to share my grandparents and great-grandmother with so many other people…but for those few, precious days, my brothers and I had them all to ourselves!

I always wanted to live in Oklahoma when I was little. I wanted to live on the same road that my grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles did, all within walking distance of each other. I wanted to be just a short drive from my mother’s family and be able to visit them as often as I liked. I thought there could be no place better on earth than to live where you were surrounded by your family. When I was young, I always said when I had children and they grew up, I’d make them live near me. Ah, the niavete` of youth…lol.

Now my oldest son lives in Colorado. We only see them twice a year when Derek has leave from the Army and because of my health issues, we have not been able to travel to see them. Even in the age of modern electronics, nothing replaces being together, as a family. And to me, that’s what Thanksgiving is all about. Family.

This year I have much to be thankful for. Even with my current health issues, I have been healthier otherwise (no bronchitis or sinus infections that usually plague me this time of year). Jim is still working full-time; this time last year he was down to three days a week. Craig is doing well in college and has a wonderful girlfriend that I can tell brings him much happiness. Derek and Brittany are well and looking forward to life out of the army in less than a year. Our upcoming move to Mt. Carmel is another big blessing in our lives, as are our friends and family that have given us so much support this past year.

As Thanksgiving approaches and the rush of the Christmas season right on its heals, take a moment to think about those things that you are thankful for this year. Make a list and put it up on a bathroom mirror or the refrigerator. Somewhere you can see all the blessings that God has sent your way. And remind to praise Him who sends them to you.

\”Blessed Be The Name of The Lord\” by Tree 63