Giving Thanks - Post 382

Thanksgiving I believe is my favorite of all the holidays. Its a time that we can all come to gather and just enjoy visiting. There's no gift giving pressures or guilt. Just time to be together and enjoy each others company.



This thanksgiving was even more special than past years for me in several different ways.
First of all, all of my family that live out of town were able to come up and spend some time with us. I have not seen my brother and his family in a number of years so it was nice to be able to spend some time with him even though it was only a few hours.

In addition it was nice to be able to spend more time with my niece and her husband. They were able to spend the weekend at our house and it was just nice to get to know them more as a couple since we weren't able to make it to their wedding.

We got to spend nearly a week with my sister Karen and her husband Jimmy. Just being able to sit around and relax together was time that I hold special.

Fortunately for my son Kyle, who left for basic training for the Navy this past Monday, he was able to spend several days with his cousin from Florida. We didn't get to spend much time with either of them because they kept themselves busy but I am thankful that they got to spend more time together before my son shipped off.

And of coarse I am always thankful when I get to spend time with my parents. We hope to make a trip down to Florida this coming summer to spend some more time with them.

After my family all left town we then had my wife's family over for Thanksgiving. We also had a great time with them playing pool, air hockey, and just getting together to have fun.

The Thanksgiving holidays ended in a bittersweet moment for us however. As many of you already know my oldest son joined the Navy and this past Sunday he had to report to the recruiting office to prepare to leave. So Sunday we all went to church together. My daughter bawled he eyes out all throughout mass while her brother sat next to her. After church we went  out to eat for one last family meal together and then we dropped him off at the recruiting office.

Monday morning we all went down to the federal building for his swearing in ceremony and had lunch with him. Later we met him at the airport and sat with him until his plane left for Chicago. After he boarded the plane we watched until the plane taxied out of sight.

I am so Thankful for my wife, my family and our friends. I know that the coming year will be filled with new experiences and challenges.