Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! Today’s post will be short, and I am going to not give any Holiday or Zone missions. Today, your mission is to enjoy your family. Make memories. Cherish this time with your family. I am so thankful for my family. I am thankful for my husband and children. I am thankful for my parents and grandparents. I am thankful for my siblings. I am thankful for aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. I am thankful for friends. I am thankful for my house, for food and clothes. I am thankful for my church and church family. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my blog readers. I have so many things to be thankful for that I could miss the whole Holiday writing down things. I am blessed beyond measure. I’ve had a story to share that’s been on my mind today. If you will indulge me, I will try to share what’s on my heart.
Seven years ago, we were given difficult news that my Grandfather was very sick. He was so sick that they told us he would not be with us at Christmas. Since I grew up in my grandparent’s house, I was very close to him. He was the one who fixed things for me when they broke. He was there to listen. He was there to love all of us unconditionally. He made everyone around him feel special. So the news that he was terminally ill was very difficult news. I was heart-broken. Even thinking about it now brings those emotions back. I spent the day before Thanksgiving talking to Hospice and making arrangements for a hospital bed to be delivered. We were going to bring him home from the hospital before Thanksgiving. We were going to cherish the time we had left with him. Three weeks prior to this, he was helping me move boxes. It was surreal to be setting up care for him.
We spent Thanksgiving Day with him and my mom and other family members. I spent the night. At 3:00 in the morning, we shared pumpkin pie. We made memories. We talked. We laughed. I cried. There were times when I sobbed.
It was hard to think about celebrating Christmas that year as the days went by. We treasured our daily visits. We celebrated his birthday on December 12. On December 13, we said our final earthy goodbyes as he changed his address from earth to heaven. Because I still had small children at home, I had to pull it together to celebrate Christmas and do some of our favorite Christmas traditions. It was hard to do this with a huge hole in my heart.
This week I have had friends who lost family members. I have friends who have children who are sick and in the hospital. I have friends who have welcomed babies into their homes. To everything there is a season. This season, I challenge you to love your family. Enjoy your family. Make memories. Be present in the moment. Love deeply. We are not promised tomorrow. Live and love in the present.
Happy Thanksgiving!
