Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was certainly a busy one, but very enjoyable.  On Wednesday, my granddaughter made the pies while I peeled the apples.  My daughter cooked the turkey which was very moist.  I made my sweet potato casserole, but as I became engaged in conversation my granddaughter added the marshmallows at the right time.  My dinner consisted of a tiny bit of turkey and a little mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Delish.... The dinner on Thursday with the family went by very quickly ending with an unplanned card game while watching "The Heat" with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy.  A half sandwich of turkey and cranberry sauce was just the snack I needed at the end of the day.

I was so happy to see my Marine grandson, now a Lance Corporal.  Haven't seen him since April.  Looking forward to seeing him at Christmas.  Looking good.  He's happy to be a US Marine.  He graciously took the time to play cards with his grandmother.

Friday's excursion was a trip to the mall with my daughter and granddaughter to meet her other grandmother.  We missed the early morning crowd.  Our visit, though not purposely planned, seemed to be sandwiched between the busiest times.  I am not a crowd lover so this was perfect for me.  Before we left, we enjoyed coffee at Gloria Jean's in the Poughkeepsie Galleria.  I recommend it.  We returned home to prepare Thursday's leftovers for lunch with my daughter and son-in-law's friends visiting from Albany.  That evening I prepared to move to another daughter's in Fishkill so I could be ready for an early start the next morning.

Around six a.m., we piled into the van to travel to the Philadelphia area to participate in the Jamie O'Brien Kindem Memorial Run ( https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/216973548459287/ )   The temperature was 28 degrees.  Since I'm used to warmer weather, I wore four layers of clothing.  I was happy to be able to participate.  I was just a walker pushing one of the strollers (we had my daughter's two little ones with us).  We joined Jamie's husband, children and family at McKenzie's Brew House on Swedesford Road in Berwyn PA.  The staff was friendly and handled the crowd cordially and expertly.  I had hummus with flat breat, actually just two pieces, on the Tappas menu.  My son-in-law had what looked like a very generous Bacon Cheeseburger.  My daughter told us her fish tacos were delicious  Even the children enjoyed the ample servings from their menu.  My daughter made a point of stopping to speak with the hostess to tell her how good the food was.  If you are in that area of Pennsylvania, you might want to stop in.  Of course, we had more traffic probably due to this weekend being a big shopping opportunity coupled with the celebration of Hannukah and Thanksgiving.  When we arrived back home in Fishkill NY, we were ready for bed.

On Sunday, I accompanied my Beacon daughter to Worcester MA to bring my second oldest grandson to WPI.  The trip of 159 miles took us 6 hours.  Unbeknownst to us, there had been a 70 car pileup on the 290, due to early morning icy road conditions.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities.  As we inched along, we thought it was due to the conflagration of holidays and all the college students returning to school. Thankfully, our GPS put us on the right roads at the right time.  Without it, we might have been sitting in even worse traffic.  I didn't get an opportunity to see the campus as it was dark by the time we arrived.  Maybe another time.

Since I'm a "goer" this weekend was quite enjoyable for me.

Happy Hannukah!

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My Thanksgiving

As we near the day we call "Thanksgiving", I think of its origins and the reasons we give thanks.  Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday, which commemorates the gratitude exhibited by our earliest settlers who had endured extreme hardship in their quest for freedom from an oppressive ruler.  Many of us celebrate this day with a special meal, taking time from our busy, busy, and perhaps, humdrum lives to give thanks to God for our freedom and many other blessings.

When I was growing up, we didn't have a "Thanksgiving" meal, as my father had to work that day.  As best I can remember, I was a teenager by the time my father had that day off from work.  Then, we had an "official" Thanksgiving meal to which my mother invited older friends who might otherwise be alone that day.  I remember my mother making the turkey and cooking everyone's favorite vegetable.  So therefore, although we weren't by any means rich, along with the turkey, we had a full array of condiments and at least six different vegetables on the table.  That was the only day I ever had another meal later in the evening consisting of "left-overs."

As my husband and I raised our seven children, we tried to instill in them a spirit of thanksgiving in our everyday lives, so this day was celebrated in a big way.  Now my children, separated only by approximately 2,600 miles, celebrate with nearby family and friends, remembering their brother and sisters, living on the opposite coast of the country, in their hearts.  This is a time when we wish we could all be together again, but living on two coasts doesn't afford us this opportunity.

Judeo-Christian teachings instruct us to be thankful to our Creator.  Psychologically, it is beneficial for us, in our busy, busy, and perhaps humdrum lives, to assess our lives and our blessings.  I'm sure there are physiological benefits from this as well.  It's been my observation that when I center on being grateful, my spirit rises.  While I'm far from what I consider financially "rich", I consider myself blessed beyond belief.

I'm thankful to God for my family, our health and wealth (however, subjective) and ability to do and be what we want, within reason.  I'm thankful, as a Christian, for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit who guides me day by day.  I'm thankful for the wonderful family and friends with which the Lord has seen fit to provide for me.  I'm thankful for our service men and women who lay down their lives for our safety, and their families who willingly sacrifice their lives as well.  I'm thankful for my health and ability to spend time throughout the year with all of my children and grandchildren, who are growing like "weeds."

My prayer for you, this day, is that you are able to fulfill your God-given destiny with your God-given talents.

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