Post Turkey Day Wrap-up

Good morning and welcome to that uniquely American holiday...Black Friday. How weird is it that one day after we, as a nation, gather with our families and friends in the name of celebrating all that we are have and are thankful for...by going out and participating in a massive gluttony of consumerism?  Just so you know...I don't.  This is traditionally the day I decorate for Christmas.  I'm not even doing that this year. I'm putting it off until Sunday.

* How was your Thanksgiving?  We enjoyed a nice day with our daughter and her fiancee and my mom and stepdad.  It has become our tradition to go up to my stepdad's home on the mountain. There we are surrounded by woods, enjoy a roaring fire, and can watch the wildlife in the field from the big window by the table.

Our son and his family always spend Thanksgiving with his wife's family which is okay with us as they always come here for Easter.  They needed to be with her family this year, anyway, as they have suffered several deaths.

* I didn't get to do a Thankful Thursday post yesterday, so here is a short list.

This week I am thankful...

• for a great check-up at the doctor's this week.  BP was 108/78.  Cholesterol was 160-something overall...bad cholesterol was down...good cholesterol was up...triglycerides were down.  Kidney function good.  Liver function good.  Heart rate good.  Breathing good.  Red and white blood cell counts right where they should be.  Even my vitamin D level, while at the lower end of the scale, was in the acceptable range.
• for a 5-day holiday weekend.  A handful of the students on my bus have been a real trial lately and I am in need of a break.  I also welcome the time to get the house ready for Christmas and to spend some time with family and friends.
• that the election hoopla, while not going away just yet, does seem to be slowing down.
• that there is no reason for me to be out there shopping on Black Friday.
• for the changes I am seeing in my mom.  Yesterday I noticed a Bible sitting near the sofa she always sits on...I hope that means she is reading it.
• that our old hound was able to go to Thanksgiving with us.  He has a very hard time getting up the stairs as his fatty tumors continue to grow.  It may have been his last time and he had a good day.
• that my husband has a cold or some type of virus....I'm thankful because with the way his health has been the last few years I was worried that maybe it was something else.
• that my husband has an appointment to see the doctor next Wednesday. He refuses to try to go earlier, but at least he is going.

And other things on my mind...

* Sympathy and prayers for the family of Florence Henderson.  The Brady Bunch was one of my favorite shows growing up and I still love reruns.  As Carol Brady, Henderson became one of America's iconic moms.  Another little piece of our innocence gone.

* Tomorrow we are going on a little bus trip to Olglebay, WV to see the light display.  We'll get to stop at Cracker Barrel (so much yummy goodness...and the shopping!!) and do a bit of walking around and shopping at Olglebay, too.  We go with a group of families of mentally handicapped adults.  They go every year and open the trip up to others if they don't fill the bus.  It only costs $10 to go and it's such a blessing to see how excited those individuals get.  I especially love how in awe they are of the big nativity scene.  God speaks to everyone.

* We've done it.  We've done away with cable/satellite television service.  We now have only Netflix and Hulu.  We'll see how it goes.  It's all part of the effort to cut costs.  Cable and satellite are ridiculously expensive and we've been finding that there is less and less variety or even anything we want to watch.

* It's officially time to begin the Christmas movie season!  I have a "thing" for Christmas movies. (confession: I've been watching them on Hallmark for a couple of weeks already.)  In between laundry and cleaning today I will be watching some of my favorites.

* Talk about a Thanksgiving miracle!  Thank you, Lord, for the safe return of the California mom who was missing for 3 weeks.  So amazing to hear that kind of story have a happy ending.

Well, I am off to get busy.  Please enjoy your long weekend and family gatherings...your shopping trips...and Christmas kick-offs...but be safe and don't forget the real meaning of this season.

Where I'm From

Happy Monday!  It's Thanksgiving week and that means a short work week. Yahoo!!!  I love this time of year and this holiday in particular.  Taking the time to celebrate the things we are thankful for and just being with family....it doesn't get any better.  It is the last deep breath before the whirlwind of Christmas sets in.

I don't do the whole Black Friday thing, so it really is a nice slow entry into the Christmas season.  I will decorate the house, begin watching all my beloved Christmas movies and specials, and we are going on a one-day bus trip this Saturday with friends to see the Christmas light display in Olglebay, WV.  Come Monday, I might indulge in a little Cyber Monday shopping, but I can do that in my pajamas, cup of cocoa in hand.

This also seems to be a time to reflect and remember times and loved ones who are gone from us. They are, after all, a big part of how we came to be who we are.  Thinking of this made me remember a poem that was quite the thing a few years back, Where I'm From by George Ella Lyon. It's a poem that can be rewritten by anyone to tell the story of their own roots and everyone is encouraged to do so.  I've written mine a few times in the past and I thought in honor of all I'm thankful for in getting where I am, I'd do it again.  So, here, is

Where I'm From

I am from pickup trucks,

from Marlboro cigarettes, and Betty Crocker cakes.

I am from the front porch at dawn.

(Nana sharing her wisdom

with the rising sun.)

I am from the sweet smelling purple lilac bushes 

and the weeping willows

whose massive trunks and low sweeping boughs

sheltered my childish dreams.

I'm from walks up the old dirt road and curly hair,

from Jack and Sherry.

I'm from the independent 

and the quirky,

from Were you born in a barn?! and Clean up your plate!

I'm from Sunday school,

letting this little light of mine shine,

and prayers before bed.

I'm from Pilgrims and pioneers,

from roast beef and hot tea.

From the small celluloid pony,

a child's only gift in the depression,

and the doctor who couldn't save himself.

The stories were told 

whenever the family gathered.

The pictures, packed away in my youth,

are now divvied up 

gone to three states.

I don't know the faces

but hold the tales dear

and thank each one for bringing me here.

*If you'd like to try your own hand at the poem, you can find a template here and read the original that started it all here.