Thinking and Thanking

November 27, 2011 • 2011, cats, gratitude, tabby, thanksgiving, thinking out loud

I'm home from church today sitting with a cat that is about to pass from this life. We've had her about 11 years and she's a sweet little thing. We let our cats run inside and outside and one risk of that decision is disease, and she has one of the untreatables. So, she'll die soon after having lived a happy life full of lots of petting, snuggling, all the sunbeams she would ever want to lay within, plenty of fresh air, trees to climb, squirrels to bother and fireflies to chase. She used to follow my kids to school, right to the corner where they crossed with the crossing guard. They often reported that they would turn around and see her and she would stop and act all nonchalant, like she just happened to be there. A few minutes later she would show up at the door, give me a very pointed and salutatory look that always seemed to say, "Report: All is well, they made it to the crossing guard, " then sweep past me like she'd finished a secret mission and go take a nap. She was always loyal to us and the kids and it was a comfort to see her around.

She seems to be comfortable, just tired and ready to be free of her broken little body, and I didn't want her to be alone. I know. Many of my best friends are not animal people and may think I'm nuts to go on so about a kitty. I'm okay with that. I don't really understand a lot of things other people do, so it all evens out. I am one of those folks who easily connects with animals, perhaps because my own thought processes are so simple and basic and sometimes humans just wear me out. Animals just love you and appreciate you with complete trust. Even cats. It actually seems a little miraculous to me when a soft, friendly kitty comes and sits upon my chest and looks at me. I am certain she is telling me about her day and asking about mine. It's the closest I come to telepathic, wordless communication. I feel good and peaceful inside. So, it seems right to try and give this little orange gal some comfort and company in her final hours after she's been such a faithful companion to our family.

As I sit here, I have time to consider our lovely holiday weekend in Kentucky. We went there to celebrate Thanksgiving with two of my sisters and their families. The rest of our family was scattered hither and yon around the world, so it was good to be together with about 15 of us, plus my sister's in-laws. Thanksgiving just seems better to me with a big crowd.

All the traditions were observed with propriety. We made my mom's rolls and her sweet potatoes, the in-law's special stuffing (which was delicious), a parade of desserts both old and new, and all the other usual autumnal delicacies. We prayed and laughed and everyone helped out and the house was filled with noise and laughter and giving of orders and much moving of tables and washing of dishes. All as it should be.

There were photo shoots and hi-jinks and an excursion to a local light display. There were camel rides and baby yaks to pet and even a kangaroo. It was good times for all.

The 8-hour drive to and from was peaceful, yet again through the rolling hills of West Virginia and Western Maryland, and this time I got to just ride and listen to my book while the kids dozed and watched a movie or two. Travel now is easy, with everyone able to pack and carry all their own gear. That is a nice thing about this time of life and motherhood. No more frenetic traveling circus moments. We just...go.

Now we're back and the wonderful feeling of the holidays is here. The music has started playing, the house is getting stripped down in preparation for it's holiday finery, and we are making plans and joking about gifts. In spite of the marketplace doing its best to steal Thanksgiving from us by starting all the holiday sales even earlier, and in spite of the world being crazier and more upsetting by the minute, the feeling of the holidays prevails, if we choose to acknowledge it and ignore all the noise. It's possible.
I am thankful for so many, many things.

Here are a few of them:

9 of 26.5 grandchildren on my side

My Sis and BIL

What would a visit to a Christmas wonderland be without a train ride?

My niece really loved her camel ride.

Aerial view of the final prep before the big feast.

All ready to eat!

My other Sis and BIL. They obliged me with a very early, chilly photo shoot so I could practice some new techniques.

Hot tub + teen boys + free time = crazy hair, fun times and a wet lens. It was worth it.

The official Thanksgiving portrait, 2011
Kentucky

November 14, 2011 • autumn, poetry

I am outside on this iconic Autumn afternoon
Warm breezes play with my hair
And leaves fill the air around me
Flying, spinning, floating everywhere
It is the same dance they do every year

But it always delights me like something brand new and miraculous

Soon we will shutter our doors and wrap ourselves up
And the light will flee ever southward
Leaving the great arms of trees reaching
Up into cloudy-grey skies
That I will see out of protecting windows

There is time yet for the stillness and cold of an Eastern winter

Today is yet mild, and all golden and green
Filled with rustle and movement
I am part of this great last breath
Before the seasons change again
And I will move inside

November 6, 2011 • family, Jeff and Ashlyn, laughter

We do this fun thing with my son and daughter-in-law which is that we skype with them every Sunday night. It's become a tradition and when we miss it, it matters. Tonight there was no skyping because they just moved into a new apartment and have no internet connection yet, but we all crowded around one phone on speaker and had some good old-fashioned breathless laughing together.

I mean HILARIOUS stuff.

I just recently had the chance to look up the definition of that word and one of the featured ones is "boisterously merry." Yes. That about covers it. And it did my heart good.

There were guffaws to be heard about everything from the usual sibling name-calling to the dishes Jeff was washing to their new-to-them car (a 1993 Buick Park Avenue free from Ash's grandma-tell me that is not a car worthy of some boisterous merriment when you are 24 and 21 years old!) to my husband's singing voice and back again to the name calling.

My kids laughing together will always be one of the best sounds my ears can hear.

November 5, 2011 • days off, pennsylvania, travel, zipline

Thanks to Eversave and a day off of school, yesterday we found ourselves in rural Lancaster County, PA, all rigged up and flying through foliage so beautiful it didn't seem real. Eric took the day off, the weather was amazing, our guides were perfect and all this combined to make a seriously fun memory. Standing 50 or 60 feet above the ground in the midst of this great Eastern forest that I love so much, with the leaves at their absolute most colorful, was an amazing experience. I'm so pleased it all worked out and that we could carve out this time together. I can enthusiastically recommend the Refreshing Mountain Camp as a great place to have a day out with your family.