Confessions of an RVer: THANKFULNESS

I know I'm late in getting this post well.....posted. The turkey and dressing is long gone and we are rushing into the Christmas season, but I want to slow down for a minute and recall my Thanksgiving.

Mr. W's Mom (Memaw) never put any pressure on us about when or where we got together as a family for Christmas. But, she loved Thanksgiving and she loved having all of the family together on Thanksgiving. This worked out great for me. My Mom (Gammy) was very firm that our family was having Christmas together on Christmas Eve evening. There was never any negotiating on this. So, we spent most Thanksgivings with Mr. W's family and Christmas Eve with my family. Some of my favorite memories as part of the W family are Thanksgiving memories.

Memaw and Pepaw had a small house. It was only about 1000 square feet. So, it was always a puzzle as to how we could all get in her dining area to have dinner. Mr. W and I had 2 children and DWW and Barb had 4 children. Finally, Memaw and Pepaw started suggesting, that if the weather was nice, we should have Thanksgiving at "the lake." We started spending many Thanksgivings at "the lake."

The kids loved it because basically, they just loved being there anytime of the year. The weather is usually GREAT in November in Texas. We weren't confined in a 1000 sq. ft. house. It was a win-win situation all the way around.

After Memaw and Pepaw were no longer able to go to the lake, we would try to still get together at the lake with DWW's family, but life seemed to get in the way. When your kids grow up and get married, you have to share them with in-laws and schedules tend not to work out. But, this year, we made a concentrated effort to try and get everyone together. Miraculously, everyone was there except for Daughter and her family and one of DWW's grandsons. Barb worried about the weather and changed her mind about coming several times. But, the weather was cloudy but basically good.

Our nephew, Jason, who lost his wife 3 months ago, came with his son, Gavin. Thanksgiving was Jason's birthday and the Sunday after Thanksgiving was Gavin's birthday. It was good that they were with family for their birthdays this year. Our other nephew's wife made them a birthday cake and we all celebrated their birthday which helped them feel not so sad. For those of you who have lost someone you love, the "first" everything is hard to go through. I would think it is especially hard for someone who is only 9 years old.

As I looked around at everyone, a lot of those earlier Thanksgiving memories came back and I realized how quickly time goes by and you can't get it back. So, I was very thankful that we were all together making more memories. I was thankful that Son and his family were spending Thanksgiving with us because they usually don't. DIL's family were all going different directions this year which gave them the opportunity to be with us. I was thankful that not one day in my life have I ever had to go hungry because there wasn't enough food or because I couldn't afford to buy food. We had a feast. I was thankful that I live in the USA and all of our families have freedom. We have our problems and some of them are major problems. But, I would rather live here than any other place on earth. I was thankful that God loves me and has allowed me to live a healthy life and to live to see my children grown and have my grandchildren.

I could go on and on. I have been blessed beyond measure and far more than I deserve. But, I also know that family is one of my biggest blessings and one thing that I am the most thankful for. We have many friends that we love as if they were family and I am thankful for them too.

So, I don't want to be like the marketing companies in our world and just skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas. I want to always remember to slow down and be thankful. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.