My Holiday Soap Box

7 years ago this month my Dad died.  Jamie, the kids (only 6 of them then), and I spent 5 days in a hotel, and had Thanksgiving dinner at Denny's.  I also spent several hours Thanksgiving Day visiting my Mom in the hospital.

17 months later my Mom died during Holy Week, and we spent Easter weekend at the same hotel and Easter Sunday at at the same Denny's.

3 years ago Dante had severe cellulitis in his right arm; he and I spent December 23-26 in the Hospital.

These experiences made me very grateful for eating options on a holiday, and aware of the need for community workers to work on holidays, as well as hotel staff and other things we don't think of as necessary.

Waiting tables at a Cracker Barrel, means I have to work Thanksgiving and Easter.  It really stinks to not be with family the entire day....some guests make that feeling worse, some make me thankful to be there.

When I wait on an elderly couple whose family is too far away, it is a blessing to be the one to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving.  Going out to a restaurant might be the only thing that makes their day special.

I have waited on people going to or from their own jobs that day, when preparing a meal is the last thing on their mind after the shift just finished.  And there are those traveling home from a full day with family who need a short break from all the driving and traffic.

It really burns my biscuits though to wait on large parties who simply do not feel like cooking and so they all meet up to camp out at a few tables in a restaurant.

Seriously, toss a turkey in the oven, tell everyone to bring a dish and camp out in your own living room.

And now people are shopping on Thanksgiving and making even more people required to work for our gratification??? What are we thinking???

I'd better get off my box now and finish cleaning the kitchen...we celebrated a day early since Nik and I have to work on the real Thanksgiving Day.  It was a blessing to sit at the table with 7 of my 9 kids, although we missed the two big boys.

By the way, we celebrated without our Zachary because he is in the Navy and has to work.  We will also celebrate Christmas without him (again) because he has chosen to serve our country.  Please be sure to thank those who make this choice, because it most certainly benefits you.

I am thankful for my family, and for my job.

God is good.

PS, Apparently turkey makes Dante tired...

Our Ultimate Field Trip, Part 3

We had an amazing few days with Alexander.  It was soooo good to see him, and he had a lot to say about Basic Training. 

A picture says a thousand words, so here are a LOT of words. 

We dropped Alexander off at Fort Eustis last Friday, then headed home.  We were able to stop for a visit on Chincoteague Island and spend an hour with my Uncle, not long enough but a nice visit nonetheless. 

Saturday ended our journey, but Alexander's next journey was just beginning as he begins his specialist training at Fort Eustis.

We will see him again just after Thanksgiving, but now that his training focus has shifted we are able to connect with him more often via phone and Facebook.

God is good!

What Really Matters

The Essence of Autumn slide show causes me to reflect on Christmas and the value of our families to us all. Although Christmas is supremely a time to celebrate the most singular event in the history of the cosmos, the birth of Jesus the Christ, the Redeemer of Humanity, too often it becomes a time where the focus is on what you can get and not what you can give. But what do we really need? Do we need that Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 with its latest tutorial on how to live a life of crime (Grand Theft Auto, etc.)? Do we need more stuff for which we have no room and no need?

This brings me to the Essence of Autumn, where we see an exposition of the truly important things in life. We need to enjoy our families, here, now, today, because even if we all live to be 100, today will never come again. That three year old in the leaves, that seven year trying to help bag the leaves, and that thirteen year old hoping to finish soon, will never be at this stage of life again. Enjoy it while it lasts. It is the family leaf pile that you and they will remember long after that game system has faded from memory. That Wooly Bear crawling on their hand is worth more than all the presents we can buy. So get them things for Christmas, there is nothing wrong with that, but if that is our focus then we have missed the point. We need to give of ourselves and learn to accept that gracious gift from others. That's what really matters. James