Thanksgiving reminds us the most important thing in life is being with family. I'm very thankful for our family and having Gabe home from college has been a joy despite his typical off beat schedule of hanging out with friends all hours of the night. I've watched him grow tremendously in the first semester into a confident and caring young man. His goal oriented nature is constantly reassessing what he would like to do even with transferring from Radford to Northern Virginia Community College next semester. He is more open to applying to other schools for next fall and expanding his horizons.
As I end this evening before Thanksgiving I started preparing items for dinner tomorrow to lessen the load of the 9 course meal. I've taken over the preparation of Thanksgiving since the passing of my father in law 5 years ago which means I cook Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I believe my daughter in laws will want to join in the fun and contribute to practicing their own culinary works some day.
I've also experienced what it's like to have my mother in law live in our home for the past 4 years. While most will share they couldn't do what I'm doing there aren't many safe options for the elderly as I've discovered in caring for my mother in law through many of her medical crisis two being falls that occurred 3 months apart with this latest fall resulting in 7 staples in her head. It's hard to watch her health deterioate as I feel for Ralph who is clinging to the one parent he still has living. Where I lost my father at age 8 and 30 respectively then my Mom when I was 48. It's never easy no matter how you handle it. I know one thing I've become fiercely protective of my mother in laws rights and realize she doesn't advocate for herself and when people age family is important in this area. Marilee (my mother in law) has suffered depression most of her life due to her childhood which she has never released but feel confident the past 4 years have served her well being in our home. She has seen a side of life with our family that has hopefully given her a sense of peace knowing that her only child has been well cared for and will be for the rest of our natural lives.
In closing, Thanksgiving is not just a holiday it's a reminder. Blessings to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment