May The Lord Make Us Truly Thankful

What my mom heard my dad say before they had their first married meal together (that she had prepared):

For what we are about to receive,

May the Lord make us truly thankful

In spite of what's in front of us...

12 REASONS TO BE THANKFUL ON THANKSGIVING

#12: Kickball!!!  Thank you, Dwayne, for organizing a kickball game every Thanksgiving Day morning!  A great game for all - and then the adults hang around watching this great swarm of kids play together until our Turkey starts gobbling.  I showed up late with Ian - after waking him at 09:20!  Quite thankful for his sleeping in!  Thankful that Melissa brings her camera - and takes pictures!  Check out the bed-head!  Super fun chatting it up with the Fraser Fam this morning!

#11: Ian's skin was noticeably better by dinner tonight!  He was "officially" diagnosed with a reaction to the Amoxicillin - his last dose was before the appointment was even made yesterday. Dare I be thankful, in advance, for a good night's sleep?!?

#10:  Stefan's outgoing personality.  He invited a (Japanese) classmate to play kickball with us.

#9:  Stefan's generous and outgoing personality.  He invited Kosho to stay for dinner!  It was Kosho's first turkey - EVER!

#8:  Stefan's generous, outgoing and clueless-to-social-norms personality.  He invited Kosho, Miryu (Kosho's little brother) and their parents to come for dinner!  They, kindly, declined (Kosho stayed).  It would have been fun to have had a Japanese family stay for a completely and uniquely American celebration.  I know "we" are somewhat of a mystery to them...  It is fun to see their expressions when experiencing something totally different for the first time - bringing me to...

#7:  First experiences!  I made a Japanese Sweet Potato dish: Kuri Kinton. Kosho said it was good!  Of course, maybe he was just being polite...  However, watching Kosho's face and hearing his reaction to turkey and CRANBERRY SAUCE was priceless!  He was giddy with delight.  It warmed my heart to no end!  I sent him home with a heavy serving of leftovers.

#6:  Dougie's boundless joy!  He was/is the best food critic one could ask for.  I got 5-star reviews from him.  He gets no monetary kick-backs from anyone to give good reports, but I think he knows the benefits of buttering up the chef...

#5:  Trust!  I am thankful for our friendship with the Cohns.  Gina and Chris Cohn trusted us enough to ask if we could keep their kids, Lindsey and Gavin, while they went to an appointment in Tokyo.  Not being a Japanese holiday and schedules being what they are - you take what you can get!  Even if it is 3:00 PM on Thanksgiving!

#4:  a BUNCH of great kids!  The kids outnumbered the adults by a ratio of 3 to 1 (that included the 14 year-old in the "adult" category!).  By nights-end, there had been no blood spilled (nor food or drink either!), no one was screaming, the house was in good repair and basically picked up.  However, a whole lot of silliness and giggling happened...

#3: Disposable chopsticks and an endless supply of rubber-bands (thank you, Gina!).  The kids all made rubber band shooters.  They built targets and shot rubber-bands all over the place.  I loved their ingenuity - even if it required a special-ops team to find, and retrieve, all 7218 stray rubber-bands.

#2: Great new friends/neighbors:  We were able to share Thanksgiving with the Paluszek's (minus Eileen & Mikaela who are college hunting - you were missed!).  Dave summarized it all so well,

"Those that don't have kids just don't understand."

They get it.  Having kids makes everything take longer.  It looks less polished.  You have to do things two or three times to get it done once.  Sitting down takes multiple attempts and, even then, you don't really get to settle in.  It also makes you enjoy your wine a little more, smile a whole lot more, laugh over the unthinkable, look back on days-gone-by with joy, fondness, a little sadness and a feeling of true accomplishment.

And #1: Only 12 days until Grammie & Pop come to visit!!!

Having this crowd for Thanksgiving made all the preparation efforts worth it.  There were no expectations nor status-quo to keep up with.  The meal brought true joy - whether or not it had reached perfection (I can guarantee it did not!).  We were able to enjoy dessert with Gina and Chris after they got back.  The kids had dispersed and we managed to have a five-way adult conversation!  Laughs and stories were shared.

I am truly thankful to be blessed by such bounty.  This is clearly a short list of Thanksgiving.  It is just a minor list from the day's observations.  Things I am deeply thankful for.  But the list is incomplete.  I could go on for "pages" about family and friends.  I could pull the great parent-offense and list "all the wonderful things about my kids (many that no one else will ever see, much less believe me...).  I didn't even include "I am thankful nobody left my home with Ptomaine Poisoning..."

My dad's prayer, what he actually said, truly summarizes it:

For what we are about to receive,

May the Lord make us truly thankful

And supply the wants of others. 

Amen.  Precisely.  Thankful.  And, generous.

Giving all the credit where credit is due.

2 Corinthians 9:15  Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!