Thanksgiving- Thankful Thursday!

Now that is a gorgeous bird.

This afternoon we went to my friend Bonnie's parents house for Thanksgiving dinner. They live in Vancouver Wa and it was a lovely time. They are closest thing to family I have locally and its nice to spend time with them.

Today started out a little rough though. I worked at T yesterday from 3pm until 235 am. Yes, you read that right. It was a very long day/night. We were setting up for Black Friday. A day I will be avoiding except to go to work. I woke up and started cooking. To be honest something I planned on doing but that I hoped would already be done or started. I was a little grumpy. I made fresh cranberry orange sauce, sweet potato and pecan casserole, as well as a pickle and olive platter. Nothing super hard or tedious.

I guess I was just mostly feeling sorry for myself. On the worst day of all days to be doing that. Throughout the day I thought of things that I am thankful for. There are the obvious things: my son, my husband, our health, a healthy tummy baby, my home.

But to go beyond the obvious is a little harder right now. And then I read my aunt Trish's blog. It got me thinking about the smaller things. The things that have mattered to me in my life. While mine isn't filled with siblings (I wish) its all things that sometimes go untold of their importance.

I am thankful for the relationship I have with my dad. We were not always close. In fact if he had to recall my teen years he might (still) blame me for his gray hairs. But in the last few years we have both tried to establish more of a friendship and now I enjoy talking to him. I enjoy it when he visits, when we go down to his house in San Diego. I love watching him with Grayson and how he is with my babies. That is something that has always struck me. No matter how rough he seemed, how angry he could become, if there was a baby around he was pure mush (don't tell him I told you ;) and babies love him. When Grayson was tiny and he visited right after his birth he would hold him for hours. Or just want him to sleep on the couch next to him.

My friend, Diana, in a chance meeting right before she moved out of her apartment and we were just relocating into ours we became friends. That was 7 years and much history ago. She is the friend I can call in the middle of the night, the one who comes to the hospital day or night to sneak me cookies and rub my back while I attempt to deliver a baby, the one who rescues me when I need rescuing and don't even know it.

I am thankful for the area we live in. Many people gasp when they find out we moved from San Diego to Portland and CHOSE to do so. San Diego is gorgeous but not if you know it as well I we do. There are many down sides, the amount of people moving there for the sun is merely one of them. We moved to Portland in October 2002 with no jobs and no prospects. We're crazy like that. And we have never looked back. There are times I wish family was closer, like today but mostly I love where we live. The friends we have made. When I drive over any one of the bridges in Portland and look at the many others I feel at home. I know this is where we are supposed to be and that is a good feeling.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't try to remind myself how good I have it. Yes, things have happened lately and in the last two years that have sucked. Yes, some are horrible. But you know what? Everyone has a story. It isn't just me or us. There is not a thing in this life that is going to take me down without a fight. I have always been a fighter. For good or for bad, that's who I am. And for that I am thankful...

And if I had to put a song to my life right now I would pick this one.
Sounds like life to me too.

Oh, and I am 33 weeks pregnant today!