GIVING THANKS

It is the morning after the day which was Thanksgiving, 2011.  I am still awash in the warm and happy memories of the day previous.  It was a long day, which began at 5am (actually it began at 3pm on Wednesday when I started baking the potatoes for "twice baked") with Linda preparing the stuffing that would go into the turkey.  At 6am I started on the turkey, opening the package, rinsing the bird, filling the empty cavities with stuffing and finally putting it into the oven.

After checking emails and a quick stop at FB, the rest of the morning began with a scrambled egg breakfast, then on to getting the dining room ready for dinner, with occasional stops for to watch a bit of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Preparations included getting out new tablecloths, bringing out the card table for an extension to the dining room table, locating the folding chairs, getting down the fine china and taking out the fancy silverware.  And, OH!! Don't forget to put extra bottles of wine in to chill!

With dinner planned for "around 2-ish" we managed to get it wrapped up and on the table before 2:30!  The happiness of having almost everyone home for this particular holiday is practically indescribable!  We missed having Michael and Hannah with us, but they were in our hearts as we all (Kenny and Gisselle, Dean and Brenda, Patti and Jerrod, Ian, Bridget, and Molly, Linda and me, joined by Fr. Deo and seminarian Mark sat down to enjoy a minor feast of major proportions!

It was a day that brought to light how very many reasons we have to give thanks to God for all the blessings we have been given.  Wonderful, loving, happy and healthy family, good friends, a house that truly is a home filled with love!

Now it's time to get on with the post-Thanksgiving cleanup!!

Wishing you all God's blessings on this "Black Friday", when people begin their Christmas shopping in earnest... and I pray that we don't lose sight of what we have to be thankful for and why, that we don't lose sight of the "reason for the season" that is Jesus Christ, our Lord.  As we get ready to enter in to the Christmas season, let's try to keep Christ in Christmas!  Dominus Vosbiscum... et cum spiritu tuo! The Lord be with you, and with your spirit!