Full of Thanks

I was in bed for a little over 12 hours last night. For most of the time I was sleeping. I kind of feel like I could have slept even longer, but figured it was best to get up and see what today would bring (and deal with whatever that was). I slept fine and didn't wake up with any sort of pains during the night or in the morning. "Dinner" was set for one and I had originally planned to get there at noon. When it was nearly 11 by the time I was fully awake and near ready to get in the shower, I didn't think that was going to be possible...but I WOULD get there before one!

I decided to go ahead and take a Zofran before attempting to eat anything. And, I thought I should eat something at home before I went straight to Thanksgiving dinner after eating hardly anything in over 24 hours. I had a bowl of cereal before getting into the shower. By the time I was blowing my hair dry, the stomach cramping seemed to have returned, although not as "severe" as yesterday. However, they also didn't last long and I was fine by the time I got to my aunt and uncles a little before one.

What a crew we had gathered for Thanksgiving dinner. That in itself is something to be thankful for! Two grandparents. My parents, sister, and nephew (my brother-in-law had to work), four uncles, five aunts, fourteen cousins, and four cousin "significant others" makes 33 (someone counted 38, but I have counted a few times and only get 33...guess another aunt, three cousins, and a brother-in-law would have made 38...) Very fun! On my mom's side of the family, there were ten granddaughters before there was a grandson. So, us girls ruled the roost for a while and now range in age from 18-30. (Seven of the next eleven are boys ranging in age from 6-18...the oldest boy is just a couple weeks younger than the youngest of the first set of girls.) We still have a lot of fun when we get together and I am really thankful for that, especially now that I have come to realize that this is not "the norm".

I took it easy at lunch, just taking teeny tiny portions of everything to see how it went. I was fine, so tested the waters little by little and kept being fine, so ended up having a couple glasses of wine and some coffee and dessert. I never had any trouble and I am SO thankful that it was a one day deal (an expensive and not very fun one day deal, but one day only is good!)

After we ate, there was football watching and lots of conversation. Then, people found different activities to do in various "small" groups. I played some Apples to Apples and Phase 10 (I've never played that before!) others spent time flipping through the ads, playing pool or poker, or simply chit-chatting. It was just a wonderful day!

I have decided not to join the small group who is heading to Kohl's at 4 AM since that is only a little more than 3 hours from now and there isn't anything that I, or anyone on my Christmas list, needs at that hour. My sister wants to go shopping after 10 some time since that is when my nephew will go to be with his grandparents. That is much more reasonable, although may still not be that easy considering how late it is now and how long I slept last night!

My cousin who lives in New York and her boyfriend are staying with me tonight and tomorrow night. It is fun to have a place they can stay that I am now proud to call my own. After my kitchen/living room updates this fall, it really does feel more like home and I love it!

Not only am I thankful to have such a wonderful family, I am also full of thanks for all the wonderful friends I have been given. I can't imagine life without these very special people...for each one has played a role in who I am now, and I hope will be there wherever the road takes me from here.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Good night.