A few years ago it was several days before Thanksgiving and as usual I was in the pre-frenzy that always accompanies getting ready to host and cook for 35+ people always brings.
The kids had been to school and during the day, I had been trying to get rid of all the spider webs, dust and general mess that tends to accumulate in corners you don't notice until getting ready to have a massive influx of humanity to your house. Also as usual, I had spent the entire day cleaning, TRYING to at least stuff everything out of sight and put a polish on things that had to be seen. The school bus pulled up, the boys came in (they were still in elementary school then)...and lo and behold, the first thing my oldest said as he walked in the house was..."Gee Mom, it smells like THANKSGIVING!" *LOL* I had to sit down and just laugh. My little geniuses didn't equate the wonderful smells of all the massive amounts of food that come with the holiday with the actual day, but the fact that everything smelled clean and fresh and new. Ever since that has been a running joke in the family whenever I get in a cleaning binge or something happens to bring it to mind with life occurances...it's not the calendar that can bring those special feelings of warmth, family and memories, but something as simple as a routine or a smell or a touch to realize that thanks should be given.
Well, this week it's "smelled like Thanksgiving" to me. Now don't get me wrong. All life's difficulties are still there. There's still never enough energy or money or hours in the day to do all that needs doing. Problems that crop up from time to time, still appear...but I've spent the week realizing that in spite of all of that, life as I know it has it's blessings when you take the time to sit and find them. I've had some of that time to reflect on them this week during all the times of waiting.
Mom had her surgery last Friday. She's had so much to overcome the last 30 years. She was so young (younger than I am now) when Rheumatoid Arthritis took over her life. It has ravaged her body and yet her fiesty nature and spirit always has shown through and kept her going when most would have been bedridden or brought to their knees. So, when the news came a few weeks ago that a problem had gotten worse, couldn't be ignored any longer and had to be fixed/diagnosed we all wondered if she could even survive this latest twist in her life. There have been some very tense times waiting for biopsies and operations to be performed.
During that time though, there were also pockets of laughter with my Dad and sister...seeing unexpected friends and people in the hospital from my childhood that have always been so special to me in my thoughts and memories and who shaped the person I am today...I discovered that they still provide inspiration and smiles in the way they are coping with things happening in their lives to loved ones. Without realizing I needed it, some needed revitalization was brought to me through all of these precious little touches of past and present.
Mom came through the surgery very well considering how many things she has to deal with physically on a day to day basis. Her spirit and personality is, as always, a force to be reckoned with and it lets us all know that she's going to keep us on our toes as usual. She can't wait for my sister to have her first baby next week, and is already bossing that newest addition to the family around before it even arrives. Before she went into surgery, she told my new niece-to-be that she better "stay in there" until she was through and home. It was typically Mom...she's always told us, "you may not always listen to or take my advice, but I'm ALWAYS going to give it to you"...and she does...(oh, and my niece listened...she's still due to arrive next week, unless she gets anxious to join our circus early and add her personality to the mix)
I've always tended to observe a lot of life's little nuances, and this week has proven to be a treasure trove for that trait. I've seen how things are passed down from generation to generation. I've seen signs of my grandmother in my mom and recognized those same signs in myself in gestures, ways of expressing ourselves and just general outlooks on life. Even though we joke about how DIRE it is to have some of those traits, it's comforting to me. I hold close to my heart that even though my grandmother died 2 years ago on our birthdays (this time of year she's always so much more in my thoughts...she died on the day she brought Mom into the world...and I came into the world when Mom turned 21)...that she's still with us and will always be as long as Mom and I show all of those little signs of her and pass them along to the next generations.
When the past few days are all added up...I can't complain. Mom is doing so much better than we ever thought she would. I've seen the devastation that so many have had to endure from Hurricane Katrina, up close and personally...from flights of planes full of still shell-shocked individuals that have lost everything but their hope and still managed to thank me or smile...to the patients from the disaster that have been in the hospitals here that showed me how the human spirit always manages to bounce back and endure.
I've had smiles on the faces of my kids the past few days amongst the bickering they tend to do between themselves...and had many other little warm fuzzies brought to my soul from unexpected sources, both here in person...and again this morning in the form of special words found, from someone soon to be far away for a long year and who will be missed greatly...messages that when left for me never fail to bring a smile to my face or other delicious reactions, depending on their content...
Yep, it sure "smells like Thanksgiving" to me.
The kids had been to school and during the day, I had been trying to get rid of all the spider webs, dust and general mess that tends to accumulate in corners you don't notice until getting ready to have a massive influx of humanity to your house. Also as usual, I had spent the entire day cleaning, TRYING to at least stuff everything out of sight and put a polish on things that had to be seen. The school bus pulled up, the boys came in (they were still in elementary school then)...and lo and behold, the first thing my oldest said as he walked in the house was..."Gee Mom, it smells like THANKSGIVING!" *LOL* I had to sit down and just laugh. My little geniuses didn't equate the wonderful smells of all the massive amounts of food that come with the holiday with the actual day, but the fact that everything smelled clean and fresh and new. Ever since that has been a running joke in the family whenever I get in a cleaning binge or something happens to bring it to mind with life occurances...it's not the calendar that can bring those special feelings of warmth, family and memories, but something as simple as a routine or a smell or a touch to realize that thanks should be given.
Well, this week it's "smelled like Thanksgiving" to me. Now don't get me wrong. All life's difficulties are still there. There's still never enough energy or money or hours in the day to do all that needs doing. Problems that crop up from time to time, still appear...but I've spent the week realizing that in spite of all of that, life as I know it has it's blessings when you take the time to sit and find them. I've had some of that time to reflect on them this week during all the times of waiting.
Mom had her surgery last Friday. She's had so much to overcome the last 30 years. She was so young (younger than I am now) when Rheumatoid Arthritis took over her life. It has ravaged her body and yet her fiesty nature and spirit always has shown through and kept her going when most would have been bedridden or brought to their knees. So, when the news came a few weeks ago that a problem had gotten worse, couldn't be ignored any longer and had to be fixed/diagnosed we all wondered if she could even survive this latest twist in her life. There have been some very tense times waiting for biopsies and operations to be performed.
During that time though, there were also pockets of laughter with my Dad and sister...seeing unexpected friends and people in the hospital from my childhood that have always been so special to me in my thoughts and memories and who shaped the person I am today...I discovered that they still provide inspiration and smiles in the way they are coping with things happening in their lives to loved ones. Without realizing I needed it, some needed revitalization was brought to me through all of these precious little touches of past and present.
Mom came through the surgery very well considering how many things she has to deal with physically on a day to day basis. Her spirit and personality is, as always, a force to be reckoned with and it lets us all know that she's going to keep us on our toes as usual. She can't wait for my sister to have her first baby next week, and is already bossing that newest addition to the family around before it even arrives. Before she went into surgery, she told my new niece-to-be that she better "stay in there" until she was through and home. It was typically Mom...she's always told us, "you may not always listen to or take my advice, but I'm ALWAYS going to give it to you"...and she does...(oh, and my niece listened...she's still due to arrive next week, unless she gets anxious to join our circus early and add her personality to the mix)
I've always tended to observe a lot of life's little nuances, and this week has proven to be a treasure trove for that trait. I've seen how things are passed down from generation to generation. I've seen signs of my grandmother in my mom and recognized those same signs in myself in gestures, ways of expressing ourselves and just general outlooks on life. Even though we joke about how DIRE it is to have some of those traits, it's comforting to me. I hold close to my heart that even though my grandmother died 2 years ago on our birthdays (this time of year she's always so much more in my thoughts...she died on the day she brought Mom into the world...and I came into the world when Mom turned 21)...that she's still with us and will always be as long as Mom and I show all of those little signs of her and pass them along to the next generations.
When the past few days are all added up...I can't complain. Mom is doing so much better than we ever thought she would. I've seen the devastation that so many have had to endure from Hurricane Katrina, up close and personally...from flights of planes full of still shell-shocked individuals that have lost everything but their hope and still managed to thank me or smile...to the patients from the disaster that have been in the hospitals here that showed me how the human spirit always manages to bounce back and endure.
I've had smiles on the faces of my kids the past few days amongst the bickering they tend to do between themselves...and had many other little warm fuzzies brought to my soul from unexpected sources, both here in person...and again this morning in the form of special words found, from someone soon to be far away for a long year and who will be missed greatly...messages that when left for me never fail to bring a smile to my face or other delicious reactions, depending on their content...
Yep, it sure "smells like Thanksgiving" to me.
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