Thanksgiving

I know that I griped quite a bit about the fact that I had to make Thanksgiving dinner all by myself. And I also know that I've mentioned that my sister-in-law and her husband are fantastic people. Well, they proved it. Jim actually stuffed, prepped, and cooked the turkey for me! WOOHOO! We talked about it at Youngest Boy's birthday party and I got the bird out to show him the size. He offered to take it home and start it for me before we got there. I pretty much tossed him the turkey and the stuffing mix I had bought "just in case" without any hesitation. First of all, he's a really good cook. Second of all, I still had to make the pies, rolls, potatoes, green bean casserole, gravy and corn so I didn't feel too guilty.

It went off without a hitch, really. Jim was there for a little while when the turkey came out and he helped with that part, too. We ate really, really early, but then it was done and I actually had about 15 minutes to relax all curled up on the giant chair with my husband and watch the kids play. Now that's what I call a holiday!

My mother-in-law was as expected. Very confused about why we were there and who else was going to be there, but she did OK. I'm pretty sure she knew it was Thanksgiving. Her sense of time/dates are still really mixed up (she thought it had been "ages" since she had seen us - when she had been here Sunday), but she seemed pretty lucid most of the time. It's such a day-to-day thing and when you're out of practice it can really set you on edge, but I did my best to remember my "training" and things went fine.

Most important, I had a loooong car trip (OK, only 2 1/2 hours - but it seemed like forever) to reflect on how truly thankful I should be. And the fact that I am not always so. The kids sometimes push me to my limit with the constant noise/whining/neediness, but they're kids. And they're MY kids, which makes them even more precious. We are having a brand new kid in just a few short months, and that's such a blessing. I am also thankful that I got to see most of my family on Sunday so that I wasn't missing being with them overmuch on the holiday. And most of all, I'm thankful for the life my husband and I have built together. There are not a lot of men who would help out in the way that he did yesterday or the way he does every.single.day. Also, not a lot who would put up with a crazy, hormonal, pregnant woman four times during one marriage!! I'm thankful for him. Because I would not want to do this with anyone else.