Give thanks

What a wonderful way to give thanks for everything to spend it with friends and family over wonderful food.

This year, Big Sister brought her roommate, and her roommate's friend, home for Thanksgiving. They are both German exchange students here for the semester. They wanted to experience "a real American holiday." And do you know what? Me too.

For the past several years we had been getting further and further away from what I always loved about Thanksgiving. The cooking, the hustle, bustle and laughing in the kitchen with friends and family as the meal was prepared, the NYC parade on TV...it had been slowly disappearing and it made me sad. All we did was run from house to house, in a frenzy, to visit everyone. So to do a Thanksgiving meal here was right up my alley.

As the day got closer I thought of a couple friends that might not have a place to go so I invited them along as well. One was a "tentative yes" as she had been due to have her baby girl the Sunday before.*

Everyone came, the food was delightful, the conversation and entertainment by the little ones was so fun. And while the space we used to seat everyone was incomplete, it didn't feel that way when we all sat down together. It was wonderful.

Later that evening, after an exceptionally long nap by CiBaby (must have been all of the excitement and turkey at lunch), we headed over to Auntie and Uncle Horsey's house to play games and have dinner with the family.

It was a wonderful day, the "Germans" as T-Daddy loves to refer to them, enjoyed themselves, and we all had a great time.

*Apparently my cooking was so good that it started labor for R...and baby A was born a couple of days later.