So many reasons to say thanks
I thought I'd share some parting words before I pack it up for a long weekend of overeating and college football.
My anticipation is building for tomorrow's family feast. As usual, I'll gather with aunts, uncles, parents, brothers and more at my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving. You can't beat my Nana's dressing, but you really can't beat the moments spent around our Thanksgiving table.
A lot of things have changed in the years we have gathered around my grandparent's dining room table. My cousin Casey has gotten married. My other cousins Michael and Donna are both enlisted in the Army and won't be able to join us this year. And we've added the most perfect great-grand baby to the mix. But when we get together our current surroundings melt away, and we easily drift back to the funny stories of our family's past. For those few moments each year, I can count my blessings because they're all around me.
Honestly, it's been a tough year for our group and tomorrow will carry more weight than usual with me. My granddad, my Big Mick, was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. And as bad as that was, it wasn't even the worst news to come. During a CT scan, doctors discovered an aneurysm that had to be fixed immediately. Following that surgery, Mick faced more than 40 days of radiation treatment for his cancer. And as soon as that ended, just a few weeks ago, the area around his stint had to be patched because of a leak.
My cousin Michael was wounded in Iraq. The communication between military and family back home is sometimes patchy, so we didn't even know of his injuries until he was back in Baghdad. He was awarded a Purple Heart, but goodness, it's scary to get news like that even after the fact.
My point is that this Thanksgiving, I've got so many reasons to say "thank you." As people, we don't just overlook the small blessings we've been given, but we can miss valuing big things like family and friends. I'm thankful to have such a strong granddad -- we don't call him Big Mick for nothing! And I'm thankful that my cousin is back in the States even though he's not sitting at our table tomorrow.
I hope tomorrow finds you with many reasons to say thanks.
My anticipation is building for tomorrow's family feast. As usual, I'll gather with aunts, uncles, parents, brothers and more at my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving. You can't beat my Nana's dressing, but you really can't beat the moments spent around our Thanksgiving table.
A lot of things have changed in the years we have gathered around my grandparent's dining room table. My cousin Casey has gotten married. My other cousins Michael and Donna are both enlisted in the Army and won't be able to join us this year. And we've added the most perfect great-grand baby to the mix. But when we get together our current surroundings melt away, and we easily drift back to the funny stories of our family's past. For those few moments each year, I can count my blessings because they're all around me.
Honestly, it's been a tough year for our group and tomorrow will carry more weight than usual with me. My granddad, my Big Mick, was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. And as bad as that was, it wasn't even the worst news to come. During a CT scan, doctors discovered an aneurysm that had to be fixed immediately. Following that surgery, Mick faced more than 40 days of radiation treatment for his cancer. And as soon as that ended, just a few weeks ago, the area around his stint had to be patched because of a leak.
My cousin Michael was wounded in Iraq. The communication between military and family back home is sometimes patchy, so we didn't even know of his injuries until he was back in Baghdad. He was awarded a Purple Heart, but goodness, it's scary to get news like that even after the fact.
My point is that this Thanksgiving, I've got so many reasons to say "thank you." As people, we don't just overlook the small blessings we've been given, but we can miss valuing big things like family and friends. I'm thankful to have such a strong granddad -- we don't call him Big Mick for nothing! And I'm thankful that my cousin is back in the States even though he's not sitting at our table tomorrow.
I hope tomorrow finds you with many reasons to say thanks.
posted by Stephanie Netherton at 4:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home