Thanksgiving Aftermath, 2007

CLICK ON ANY OF THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE.

Well, Thanksgiving 2007 has come and gone. Many things were different from Thanksgivings past and many things were much the same.

First, the things that were the same.

Good food. Too much good food! Note the pictures to the left.

Family. Not everyone was there, but the ones of us that were, were together and had more than enough to eat.

Fun and laughter, and lots of it.

Love. Lots of that, too.And now the things that were different about this Thanksgiving.

Jessica and Jason and Emmy. Jessica and Jason weren't married until December 9, 2006, so although they were together they weren't married last Thanksgiving.

And this is Emmy's first Thanksgiving. Pictures following down below.Daddy died on Dec. 19, 2004 and Mama died on April 13, 2005. Thanksgiving 2005 was our first big holiday without them and we were all kind of adrift. Nobody really spoke up and offered to host Thanksgiving dinner until Danny and Mikki, my sister Ducky's son and daughter in law, invited everyone to their house. Lamar and I, Cecil and her hubby Brian, Jessica and Jason and Ducky all went to Danny and Mikki's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Sue and Donna did their own thing.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It was just different. Different from all the years we all went home to Mom's and Dad's for Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the other holidays.

Thanksgiving 2006 I cooked Thanksgiving dinner here at my apartment and invited anybody who wanted to come. The same with Christmas. And it was good being together, but it was still not the same as when Mom and Dad were still with us.

But Cecil left a comment on my last post that really made me think. This Thanksgiving was just a little different, and it had nothing to do with where we were or even particularly who was there or wasn't.

Cecil said that this year at Jessica and Jason's, it felt like Thanksgiving again. And she was exactly right. The last few years Thanksgiving and Christmas haven't been bad, they've just been different. Adjusting to Mom and Dad being gone and some of us doing our own thing has been hard. We've not just been grieving their death, we've been grieving the loss of our togetherness on Sundays and holidays. Mom and Dad were the glue holding our family together as a group.

I would be lying if I said that I don't miss ALL of us being together on Sundays and holidays now, but there comes a time when it's necessary to move on and make new traditions, or just forget traditions and do something different every holiday.

But this year, it's really felt like Thanksgiving for me. And I am very thankful for that.

Cecil and Sue came up to visit today so that's one reason I haven't posted before now, and then Jessica, Jason and Emmy came by for a while. I'm keeping Emmy tonight so Jessica and Jason can have a little time to themselves. That's another reason I haven't posted before now.

I finally got Emmy to sleep around 8 pm, but she's been sleeping very restlessly and waking often. I've had to put her pacifier back in her mouth several times, and I've had to rock and soothe her several times as well. This last time she woke at midnight I got her up, checked her diaper and fed her, but she'd only take a couple of ounces from her bottle instead of her usual 7 ounces.

I think she's just restless because she's in an unfamiliar place. The last time she slept overnight here she was only 4 months old and at that time she really wasn't paying all that much attention to her surroundings. Now she has a routine and is very aware when she's not in her own bed with her own "stuff". She's wide awake, in her walker behind me, playing happily with the toys on her walker. It's now almost 1 am and Emmy's showing no signs of being ready to go back to sleep anytime soon. I'm hoping she'll be hungry and finish a whole bottle soon. Hopefully she'll get her belly full and get sleepy!Jessica and Jason are pretty much unpacked and settled in their new house. I have some good news to report on Jason. He went to work last Monday! He's making pretty good money and says his job is easy and he likes it so far. I am so thankful that he got a job, and just before Christmas.

Thanks to all of you who've been praying for Jason and all of us. We're all feeling better and Jason has a new job. Those are all answered prayers and I appreciate all of your prayers and thank God for you.Now, I've got to see if I can get Emmy fed, changed and back to sleep. Grandma would like to get a little sleep tonight herself.

Y'all have a great weekend.