I'm so thankful for friends and family! My family means the world to me, and I love them so much. I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving Day with them. Mom is making a big dinner, Dad is making the pies. Sister Angie will be there, as well as my brother, Darren, and his fiancee, Erica, and her daughters, Brittany & Caitlin. Aunt Linda, Mom's sister, is coming, too. It should be a great time for everyone.
But I'm also very thankful for friends. I received an invitation to an event that was held this afternoon and evening, and I'm so disappointed that my daughter and I were not able to attend. It sounded like it would be a lot of fun, and I'm sure it was. It was Pie Night. Everyone brings their favorite pie filling and some food to share, and they party and make pies. What a cool idea! It's an open house, too, which gives everyone a chance to spend time together and have a good time.
I've never heard of such a thing, though I was sharing it with a colleague at work today and he indicated that he had been to one recently, and he had a lot of fun (and he's not the type to have fun doing anything!). I regret that we were not able to attend. I know we would have enjoyed it. Thanks, Amy, for the invitation!
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So I returned to work today, and I knew it would be a challenging day, though I was hopeful that it might be quiet. My boss asked me to act for her today and Friday, so I was in the line of fire with regard to a lot of different issues, including unhappy employees, union disagreements, late data, and deadlines. I was a bit beaten down by the time it was time to leave for the day. Acting for the director is for the birds. But I'm thankful for a wonderful job.
When it was time to leave for the day, I hightailed it out of there. And I refuse to even look at my BlackBerry before Friday. Outside, it was spitting snow, and it was bitterly cold. And as soon as I pulled out of the parking garage, traffic was already backed up all the way down East West Highway. But I'm thankful for my Jeep and 4-wheel drive.
I had to pick up my daughter at my in-laws place in Damascus, so I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, but I was hopeful, because I was taking a lot of back roads, I wouldn't hit too much traffic. But I was wrong. The bad weather combined with it being the worst travel day of the year, and despite staying away from every interstate highway in the area, it took me well over an hour to get there. I was exhausted after getting stuck behind a motor home and a dozen cars all the way up Rt. 108, averaging about 15 mph. About 2 miles from my in-laws house, the motor home turned off the road, just in time for a tractor trailer to pull out of a gravel driveway in front of all of the same cars that were stuck behind the motor home! But I'm thankful for the beautiful drive and the snowfall.
I finally got to their house and thought she would be ready to go immediately. She wasn't. In fact, after playing around for almost 20 minutes, she then announced she had to use the bathroom. My daughter doesn't understand the meaning of the word "hurry". 20 minutes later, and she was finally ready to go. It was already starting to get dark. We said our goodbyes and hit the road. But I'm thankful for my wonderful in-laws.
I again took all back roads, and we made pretty good time. We finally got home at 6 p.m. I was really tired, and all I could think about was grabbing a quick dinner and then maybe a little catnap. When we walked in the door, though, Faithful Pup Scout showed us how happy she was to have us home. Actually, it was more like how much she enjoyed being home by herself since 6 a.m. But I'm thankful for my nice warm home.
I place "pooch pads" on the kitchen floor for her to use when we have to go somewhere, and she uses them liberally. After using them once, though, the kitchen floor becomes her next target. Well, 12 hours was a little much for the little pup, and she left us gifts all over the kitchen. After taking her outside in the freezing cold, where she took about 5 minutes longer than she really needed, I had to mop the kitchen floor. But I'm thankful for my dog.
My daughter decided at that moment to tell me that she was hungry and wanted to know what was for dinner. I wish I had been a little nicer, but I told her that as soon as she caught something, I'd cook it up. She asked me what I meant, and I told her to just wait and give me a chance to change my clothes and use the bathroom. Then I'd take care of dinner. Did I mention how thankful I am for my daughter?
So we had a nice dinner, I let the long day slowly melt away, and we sat down to enjoy PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES, my favorite Thanksgiving movie. I'm thankful for John Candy and Steve Martin.
So it's off to bed in a few minutes. I'm tired, my daughter is tired, Faithful Pup Scout is asleep next to me on the couch.... And I really am so thankful that our Lord and Savior has blessed us with a good life.
Best wishes and blessings to you all this Thanksgiving.
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