Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving


Today is extra special because - it is both Thanksgiving AND my sister's birthday! I am so proud to to be Debbie's sister, as she has always been, and continues to prove, what an amazing and awesome woman that she is! I'm happy to celebrate her today with family and friends and our favorite foods.

On Thanksgiving, we especially think about our Mom and how we now cook the holiday foods that she once prepared for us. To think of our Mom is to think of her in the kitchen, or on the back porch, as she took breaks during the preparation for the meal.

Our family continues to change and change is not always easy - that is essentially why many of my clients have choosen to begin therapy - due to changes in their lives. Our yearning for "how hings were" is not uncommon, nor is it wrong. I love that we are able to hold the memories that are special and significant to each of us. While I truly miss the people who no longer sit around our Thanksgiving table, I realize that there are lessons for me to learn in the losses. I can remember how they impacted my life and perhaps, I am more grateful for them in their absence than I was for them when they were very present in my life. That's certainly something to consider. I hopefully become even more aware that I want to celebrate even more the people as we do gather. In conversation yesterday with my Favorite Youngest Nephew, Andrew, we were reminded that perspective is so very important...we can focus on the people or things no longer in our lives, or we can be aware of all that remains constant and good in our lives. And I am so grateful for that. Imagine if all of the losses were compounded at once.

On a grander scale, I'm also remembering how this community of the Gulf Coast was & has been so recently impacted by Ike. These changes will be affecting all of us, in one way or another, for some years to come. I hold the memory of Galveston and the coastal communities as they slowly but surely rebuild.

Today I am thankful for: Brian, Debbie, Nana, Andrew, Matthew, Kelsie, Buster, Buddy and the newest addition, Bentley; Judy & Fred; Jodi, Dar, Gayle for loving Deb so much; Shelly & Tim for being wonderful, kind-hearted folks who shared Concan with us! I'm thankful for my health, my home, my opportunity to work with incredible people who trust me with their troubles and concerns, hopes and fears. I'm thankful for friends, near and far, Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Australia - although friends of the road, truly also friends of my heart.

I'm thankful that you believe there is something to read here and I hope your Thanksgiving day is full of joy. Remember to look for it.

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