Thanksgiving memories

Hey y'all!

Just got my tree up and although I haven't finished with the ornaments, it's really nice. I'm so glad we got a prelit tree last year. It makes the whole ordeal of putting the tree up so much faster.

We spent the day with my mom, Granny, Aunt Merry, Uncle Doyle, Uncle Mark and my cousin Ashley. It was a really nice day for all of us. So often other relatives drop in to eat with us, so it was nice to just have our more immediate family together. Granny really outdid herself this year, especially considering all she's been thru lately with her heart condition. That lady could definately give the energizer bunny a run for his money when it comes to energy. I have no idea where she gets it from. She let me go out to the wash house and pick some cuttings off her plants so I could bring them home and start some plants for myself. I haven't gotten any cuttings from her in quite some time so it was a real treat for her and I to be alone together playing in her plants. I got a number of pieces off her airplane plants, kalanchoe and jade. Maybe one day I'll have as many as her. I just love indoor plants!

I got to thinking about all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for and there are just too many blessings in my life to count them all. Honestly. Marc and I live in a lovely home, our cars are nice (and paid for), we have 3 handsome & healthy boys, we have a few pets to love on, food in the kitchen, the best friends in the world and each other. We are blessed...truly blessed. I could just go on and on listing out things for which we are thankful.

Another aspect to this day of Thanksgiving is thinking of all the years of Thanksgiving I've had. Every year has been a little different but always spent with family...except one year. Three years ago I had a friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the stomach, reproductive system and it was also in her liver. It was a devastating blow to her, her family and to all of us who loved her. Her first Thanksgiving after the diagnosis was spent at home trying to decide how far she would allow the doctors to go with her treatment. The prognosis was not good and she was told her time was quite limited. She went thru the 12 months with good days and bad. When the next Thanksgiving rolled around she was in the hospital with complications from her colostamy. Her husband and children stayed home. I called her that morning to tell her Happy Thanksgiving before I left to go see mom. She told me she'd be spending the day alone as her family wasn't coming to see her til 6:00 that evening. I was horrified but knew immediately what I had to do. I called mom and told her I wasn't coming after all and drove myself straight to the hospital to spend the day with Regina. There was no way I was going to have my friend laying in a hospital bed with no one there to share the day with. It was a wonderful day. I read to her, we talked a little, she napped a little, we shared her hospital food (blegh), shared funny stories, cried a few tears and just had a wonderful time together. At one point she even had me sit in the bed next to her so I could pray over her. She shared stories of her life (a most interesting woman who at one time had been married to a sheik from Arabia). She didn't lose her battle with cancer for another 5 months. I've treasured the memories of that day as it was a most precious gift many times since then. That one day spent in the hospital with a sick friend will be my most treasured Thanksgiving memory for the rest of my life. I will never forget it, nor will I ever forget her. Happy Thanksgiving my dear Regina...you are still loved, thought of and missed.