The Day After

My alarm startled me at 6:45 this morning. I agreed to set it so I could get Lily up to go Black Friday shopping with her girlfriends. I felt I'd prefer the job of waking her to taking her so I did so willingly and then I crawled back into my flannel and down nest and continued to sleep off last night's feast. The cats had other plans. Peanut started his caterwauling on the floor beside me and Tigger started climbing all over me. I gave up and got up. Peanut wanted kibble. Tigger wanted to play. They ask so little and give so much. I fed and entertained before curling up with my book underneath my Ugg throw only to nap after a few chapters. This is the perfect lazy day in my book.

Now I'm here with my second cuppa and a piece of my step-mom's cranberry bread. It's one of my seasonal favorites. She always sends me home with my own loaf. Who am I kidding? We came home with much more than a loaf of bread. We have a huge shopping bag full of delicious leftovers. My dad made two turkeys for eight people: one fried and one roasted. They were both juicy, but the fried was the family favorite. We had all the traditional sides and they were all wonderful. Never mind that Teddy's plate was devoid of color: he's a meat and potatoes guy on Thanksgiving and on holidays I don't worry about balanced meals or eating the rainbow.

Despite the fact that when I woke yesterday it didn't feel like Thanksgiving to me, I did have a grateful heart. I can't pinpoint what is it this year that has me out of sorts with the season. It's as though I'm quietly resisting my favorite time of year. It was a perfectly gray and broody day as late November should be. I watched the parade while I made my contributions to the meal feeling a little sorry for myself that I'm missing my mom and so many others, but then Mike and I bundled up for a sobering walk. It's a tradition that almost wasn't but I'm glad it was. I needed the fresh air and the endorphins and the normalcy. It was my first walk in a month and it felt good. Right.

On the drive to my Dad's, I reflected on my intentions for the day. Holidays are tricky. I think they tend to bring out the best and the worst in people. I decided it was best to focus on who is here rather than who's not whether it's by choice or circumstance. It's best to count blessings not misfortunes. Tribulations not trials. And that's just what we did. We went around the table giving thanks, we laughed a lot playing a silly game and we ate too much. It really was a perfect celebration.

As we were packing up to leave, my Dad lamented that we didn't get our annual family picture on the deck. I thought about it several times throughout the day and I wished we had, but not having pictorial evidence doesn't erase the memories we made. I captured them in my heart. It's the reason that my heart can be a little sad yet still grateful.

And I did manage to get a few pictures.