Wednesday, December 5, 2007

I Am Thankful

Even though it has been a while since Thanksgiving and most are busy putting up Christmas decorations and have probably already finished their holiday shopping, I thought I would go ahead and post the much belated Thanksgiving post. Think of it as my way of making one of my favorite holidays stretch on as long as possible. To quote Stephanie, Thanksgiving is really my favorite holiday because it revolves around “fancy food, comfort food, fattening food.” It is all about enjoying time with friends and family and one of my favorite activities – eating. I love Thanksgiving because it also kicks off the holiday season and it usually means that the long awaited fall is here. It also doesn’t hurt that most of us get to take a little time away from work as well.

I decided to take an additional day off work, the Wednesday prior to the big feast, at the last minute. I decided I would spend the day working on a presentation for school and cooking. That was one of the most glorious days I have had in a long time because 1) I was in my house completely alone (except for two mammoth dogs) and 2) I got to spend the day doing something that I love – cooking. I don’t really cook that much anymore since Charlie came into our lives. We still cook fresh foods for dinner but nothing elaborate. Most evenings include a pan-grilled/baked/sautéed protein and some kind of vegetable. Done. It’s nothing like the long slow roasting of a turkey, baking a pie from scratch, or the two day process of preparing stuffing from my mother-in-law’s recipe.

We spent Thanksgiving day with the Professor’s family. Several relatives came in town for the holiday and we enjoyed spending time with everyone and introducing Charlie to his extended family. For the first time ever, though, Charlie was clingy. Usually, I am trying not to get my feelings bruised because he tends to want the affections of anyone but me. But on this day, moments after we walked in the door, I sat him on the sofa and he immediately reached out for me and whimpered. My heart melted. I know that I might be cursing this kind of behavior in a couple of months because I won’t be able to get out of his strangling need to be in my arms, but for now, I will relish it. My baby finally wants his mommy.

He also loves his Gammy…

1 comment:

Stephanie said...

Isn't the Wednesday before Thanksgiving wonderful?