Happy Thanksgiving

Top of the Turkey Day to all of my friends and loved ones! Timing is everything on Thankgiving Day but timing sucked for us today in one aspect. The heating element went out on the dishwasher just in time for Thanksgiving dishes! Ouch. Such is life...

These are pics during the prep of the day and include Keith's chai tea and Dylan searching for Black Friday sales....I swear this site was not meant to be Those Darn Cats but they keep posing so I can't resist.

Third and final Thanksgiving memory:

Seven years ago, Keith and I were living in Washington, DC. On this rare occasion, neither of us were traveling for the holiday or hosting dinner for friends. We volunteered for a wonderful group named Burgundy Crescent who put us in touch with agencies in need. Thanksgiving morning, we volunteered to help prepare holiday dinner to be delivered to AIDS patients. We arrived in a dangerous side of town at an industrial kitchen set up for the express purpose of feeding the homeless. Along with at least 50 other folks, we formed assembly lines to quickly prepare and box up hundreds of meals. It was a long morning and a lot of work and worth every second.

The morning was not, of course, without humor. A local DC TV station came to the shelter to do a spot on the volunteering. They wanted someone to interview and chose me for some reason. After a quick run-through, the camera light went on and the reporter proceeded to ask me what I was thankful for. I said something along the lines of," I'm thankful for this. And grateful. I'm thankful and grateful. For gratitude. Gratitude for this." And it went on....I just babbled nonsensically. I noticed the reporter's eyes glazing over and that finally shut me up.

Sigh.

I had hoped it wouldn't be used.....but it was. I saw it. Every bit of bad karma I created from complaining about how people conduct themselves when talking to the local press came back to bite me in the ass.

Oh, well. In the end, the feeling of accomplishment that came with the day overwhelmed everything else. Making the holiday about helping others as opposed to helping myself to another helping made it my favorite Thanksgiving ever. I wish I could say I walked the walk like that all the time but that just isn't the case. We made that year, though, about something other than ourselves, and for that I will always be thankful...and grateful....with gratitude.

Stay tuned for pics of the dinner itself...