Cornucopia

Had a wonderful day with most of my family. Woke up with my son beside me, way too early, and listened to someone coughing down the hall. So I got up, tip-toed down the hall, and stopped to listen to make sure I could figure out if it was Mary Kathryn or someone else. When my sister let loose another string of coughs, I walked on downstairs to get the medicine to share with Dee.

The day seemed to be a whirlpool of activities in preparation of our Thanksgiving lunch. My usual responsibility is the making of an apple pie -- one that has become the minimum expectation of my appearance at a family event. This pie, which comes originally from my former mother-in-law, has been slowly developed into something a little more than just a dessert.

It was great to watch the kids together, especially Drew with my great-nephew Jonathan, and how much they all got along. It was also very good to see how well my parents were working with my sister and my brother-in-law on things around their new house. They recently purchased a home in Granite Falls, and it's given them a home that they've always wanted. And hosting Thanksgiving was something that meant a very great deal to my sister.

It was only the second time I've had the kids for Thanksgiving, and I've had a whole arrangement of Thanksgiving lunches since we got separated in 2006, but their role makes it so much more of a holiday, a gift. And it was great to share this day with so many friends, by messages, or calls, or through thought, and really am blessed by so many friends. Many of those folks have sustained me and helped me be a stronger, more balanced, and in so many ways happier. So thank you for my friends, and for my family, and for a great Thanksgiving.