What are YOU Thankful For?

Last year, I gifted my sibling with a beautiful handmade "Thankful Jar"... in it, were delicate hand-decorated slips of paper for each Thanksgiving dinner guest to write what they were most thankful for. No one used the jar. The beautiful jar was unceremoniously shoved beneath the buffet table by my sibling's partner who loudly exclaimed "I have nothing to be thankful for, so this was obviously a stupid choice for a gift".

Wait a minute... "a stupid choice for a gift"? Hmmm... perhaps the choice of partner...? Ah, but nevertheless... their union remains unbroken and...

I have since retrieved my Thankful Jar from my non-thankful recipients, thankyouverymuch.

What are YOU thankful for this year?

I am thankful for many things, though the two people for whom I am most thankful will not be here this year to celebrate with me - my parents, both of whom have now passed onto "the other side". This year, they will at last be together for every holiday, once again. It was six long years of solitude for my dear mother, who lived each day awaiting her reunion with her beloved. This year, I'm sure she is sitting at his side, watching us, with love.

I am thankful that I had the honor and pleasure of bringing my mom to live with my little family for her final years on Earth. I am thankful for her unwavering love and support, even when she didn't agree with me (which was 95% of the time). I am thankful that I was able to care for her, which is something that she had always regretted not being able to do for her own mother.

I am thankful for my husband, who always takes care of our family, our finances and our home, even when he's exhausted by life's demands. I am thankful for his unwavering love and support, despite the "beautiful mess we're in". :-)

I am thankful for our child, whose love, happiness and sunny disposition makes every day a beautiful day.

I am thankful for our health.

I am thankful for my sibling, without whose love and support, I would most likely be stranded on a dark sideroad somewhere.

I am thankful for his children, whom I have loved and will always love as my own.

And, I am thankful that I am here on this Earth to enjoy yet another beautiful, stress-ridden family holiday!

Enjoy!

And, please pass me the rest of that sweet potato casserole, already!

October's finally here (oh, wait, it's almost over now)! Time for the Dysfunction to begin!

OK, so I totally forgot that I had this post in draft form... oops! I absolutely love this time of year! Autumn is my most favorite season... colorful leaves falling ever so gently from the swaying trees... crisp breezes resplendent with the rich scent of fireplaces rousted from a long summer season of non-use... the sweet laughter of children as they eagerly climb onto their new school buses or run off to the local park, the back-to-school sales at Target and the craft stores. Oh, wait... that's my dream Autumn. ;-)



October is my favorite month for sure. Halloween is my favorite holiday, too. Is there a connection? Probably. But, then October gives way to November and therein lies...

THE PROBLEM:
Dysfunction at its finest. Let the FAMILY HOLIDAY PLANNING TRIALS begin!


What does YOUR family do for holidays? WE argue. Regardless of how civil we wish the holidays could be, it's always the same thing year after year... holiday after holiday. Oh, we don't argue out loud at the dinner table - that would be way too crass! Our arguments and disagreements starts way before the turkey is set on the table at Thanksgiving. We argue silently. YOU know the what I mean...

You see, my sibling is the classic Passive-Aggressive type. She will simply appear to agree with my suggestions, so as not to disagree. Therefore, in the eyes of our parents, SHE is the "Agreeable One" and *I* am the problem child. She will not actually make plans (for fear of having to discuss plans with her partner), but she will appear to go along with whatever plans are actually set into motion by my parents and I. Then, she simply does not share the plans with her family (probably for fear that her partner will disagree). And, when the Holiday arrives, and she conveniently "forgets the plans", *I* look like the Bad Guy because I am adamant about keeping to the original plan (which was made without anyone disagreeing to it verbally) because now my husband's family has gone ahead and made plans without us. If I didn't push the issue with my own family, we'd spend every holiday alone on the years that we are supposed to be with my own family.

If it were up to my sibling, she'd simply call me on the morning of the holiday and say, "What are you doing today? We are having dinner at 3pm" - that's it, no advance invitation per se, but a declaration of when food will be available. Because we should just be sitting around waiting for that call, right?


My husband's family lives in Timbuktu, so we try to make plans ahead of time because of the travel time and sleeping accommodations that need to be made. Every year, it's a struggle because we are one family far away, while everyone else is situated many hours away, all together. Therefore, we either travel there, or we do not see his family for the holiday. There is no other option. It's 3 against 23 and there's always room for sleeping three somewhere. But, arranging sleeping accommodations for 23 is impossible, unless one owns a hotel. We... do not.

So, while October is a wonderful month full of beautiful foilage and photo opportunities, it inevitably leads into November.



Let the Dysfunction begin!