Thanksgiving

I couldn't have been more thankful for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. Madison was able to go with me to North Carolina to meet up with my family at my grandmother's mountain home.



Thanksgiving at her NC home is like going to summer camp. There's 200 acres of property to explore. The property is lined by the New River, which is one of the oldest rivers in the world. She also has a small pond, a waterfall, and lots of hills and valleys. Last year she had a two story playhouse built. This year, she added a wrap around porch to the second level and a slide leading down to a fort and another slide from the fort to the ground. Go-carts are zooming around and around, kids are bouncing on the trampoline. There's fishing, shooting, boating, swinging, wrestling, weanie roasting, cooking, eating, laughing . . . you name it.



On our last night there, I was woken at 2:30 a.m. by what I thought was a critter crawling on my neck. Turns out it was the small hand of my beloved six year old. She was sharing a pull out couch with two cousins who abandoned her that night and she found herself alone, and therefore found herself standing at my bedside. I gladly opened the blanket and welcomed her in to share this tiny twin size bed. We were snuggled close and after ten minutes or so realized that neither of us could get back to sleep. So in the still, quiet night, we whispered so softly and sweetly (as there was another cousin in the same room as us). The conversation that night between mother and daughter in a whispered tone was a moment in time that I will hold onto forever. It was a perfect end to a perfect Thanksgiving vacation.

Office Kitchen Etiquette - A Poem

In our kitchens you will find lots of conveniences to help you through the day.
If you enjoy those amenities, please listen and hear what I have to say.

This is not your dorm room or your penthouse.
Your maid doesn't work here, nor does your spouse.

If your meal splatters or explodes as it reheats.
Please wipe it up . . . keep it neat.

In our kitchens, science projects do not belong.
Leaving food to fester is not just gross, it's wrong.

Be mindful of others, as these are shared spaces
Be courteous and you'll have everyone's good graces.

It's a waste of our time to have to write or read these e-mails,
so clean up your act and I'll spare you the gory details.

Thank you, in advance, for being proactive
in keeping our kitchens sanitary and attractive.

It's official. I'm 30. I couldn't be happier. Everyone was right. Thirty is fine. It's the anxiety of turning 30 that will kill you, but once you cross over, it really is great. I realized over the past few days that I have a lot of wonderful friends who are so supportive of me and that means more to me than they can imagine. I've been told on several occasions (by outsiders observing me in relationships) that I am a good friend. That compliment carries more weight with me than if they complimented me on how smart I am, how good I cook, how I look, etc. To be regarded as a good friend by people who aren't even in your circle of friends means they can see the efforts you put forth to care for others. I do care for my friends a great deal and I'd do anything for them . . . every one of them. I also realized over the weekend how many circles of friends I have. I don't associate with any one class, type, or age of person. I have friends in every group, and I love every one of them just as they are.

Thank you, all, for your well wishes and encouragement as I whined about laying my twenties to rest.

IRONY

Irony is when you call your ex-husband to get something your daughter needs for school the next day and he is grumpy and depressed because what would have been your 10-year wedding anniversary is approaching, and he says how much he hates being divorced and misses being married and all he dreams about lately is you and the times you had together. . . then you drive to his house thirty minutes later to pick up the item your daughter needs the next day and he is wearing a t-shirt his girlfriend bought for him.

In other news, I am excited to say that I have reached the point of acceptance regarding my inevitable 30th birthday. I'm actually beyond acceptance and slightly excited to be turning 30. After a year of dreading this date, I've surprised myself with that last statement, but really, it's true. I have so much to look forward to in this new decade I'm approaching and I can't wait to see what all is in store for me. So I don't have the figure I want, the man I want, the life I want, but I have a lot and those things are not unattainable, so I approach a new decade with more wisdom and power than I did the last. Bring it on!

Update on Sierra

A letter came home in Madison's backpack yesterday that thrilled all who read it. Sierra remains in Pediatric Intensive Care, but she's off life support and has become responsive. She said "Hello Mommy" and "Leave me alone" to the nurse. She's in a great deal of pain from her fractured vertebrae, but the doctors say that pain is a good sign. I think that's something like when your parents tell you that spanking you hurts them more than it hurts you. I guess the fact that she can feel is the positive sign as a lack of feeling would be a greater cause for concern than the pain.

Her little brother Logan is back in school and is staying with a family from the school.

Her mom is still in the hospital and has significant healing to do.

The teacher updates the class of Sierra's progress and I can't express what a relief I could hear and see in Madison as she told me the good reports (that I also read in the letter that came home). To hear a six year old say it . . . "Mom, Sierra doesn't have tubes and machines all over her anymore. She's getting better and she even told the nurse to leave her alone. Insert child like giggle here. She's still in the hospital and she still has to take lots and lots and lots of medicines and get shots that hurt her, but she's starting to get better."

Thanks, all, for your prayers and concern for this family.