The One with the Fastest 10 Days of My Life

It feels like it has been forever since I last blogged, and for that I apologize.  Life has gotten in the way of my writing and after a ten day vacation (?) at home for Thanksgiving I think I've finally caught my breath long enough to share some of the goings-on in my life as of recent. 

Football, Food, Family, Friends, Food... in that order. 

Had to try two of the 900 cookie recipes I pinned from Pinterest this break. One of the recipes turned out delicious, the other, not so much. I'll be sure to post a review in the near future, but for now, How darn cute is my sous chef?!?!  I got to visit my precious girls whom I have been babysitting since this little first grader was an infant.  They need to stop growing. But we had a blast baking (and eating) lots of Nutella cookies! 

Thanksgiving Eve I participated in the requisite High School Reunion at the local bars. The night was a blast; two bars, a whole lot of reunions and two broken glasses later, I was ready for my Turkey the next morning.... to say the least. 

This Thanksgiving was a chaotic as usual with my huge extended family, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I made sure to wear a dress so I could eat as much as I wanted, and ate I did.  We played games, watched football, and listened to Uncle Bob sing and play his guitar. Always a treat :) Did I ever mention I love Thanksgiving?

This year we had family that I hadn't seen in a few years come down from New Hampshire to join us for the weekend. It was really nice to visit with them and catch up, and even nicer to meet this handsome little man! Meet my one-year-old cousin, Kaleb. 

Hope you all had a wonderful week with lots to be thankful for.

Now it's back to the regular grind... two more weeks of stressful school work and then Christmas break! Can I get a Hallelujah?!! 

Thankful

Truth be told, I am a very sentimental person. I cherish traditions incredibly, and for this reason I think Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays.  Traditions are strong in my family; we eat the same food, go to the same house, even play the same games simply because "we did it last year."


My favorite is absolutely one that my mother introduced quite a few years ago at our farm house (the traditional Thanksgiving locale prior to my grandfather getting sick.)  She pulled out a white table cloth for dinner that afternoon, and told us by the end of dessert we all had to write down one thing we are thankful for, sign it, and put the year.  

I was thankful for "my family and electricity" in 1998 (age 8)

My sister was apparently thankful for "The Pilgrims" in 1998 (age 6) 

"Never stand under the stars and complain about the lack of bright moments in your life"- Aunt Kimberly 2001

"I am thankful for my wonderful family,...for all the fun we have on Thanksgiving! Also, when the kids play outside and don't bother the adults." -Aunt Kathy 2001
PS- She wrote "I look forward to seeing what Maggie writes next year!" This is the year I wrote I was thankful that "my dad was on a diet so he didn't eat all the food." Sorry Dad!

In 2010 I guess we grew up a little bit... Kaylynn said she was thankful our oldest cousin finally stopped picking on her. (age 14)

C was thankful for his health last year, as was I :) 

Maybe this year I'll be thankful that Steven is still in school. Apparently he can't count .. Hey Steve, last year was 2010. 

Today the table cloth has multiplied and we now have two cloths and a runner bearing our blessings and thanks from every year etched forever in permanent marker. No one ever grumbles or groans anymore when Mom sets out the fabric markers during dessert, because reading our "I am Thankful for's" the following year is something we look forward to perpetually.  


I hate thinking about the fact that we are all growing older, Billy is engaged to be married, three of us are in college preparing for the rest of our lives, and holidays are beginning to change a little bit as our family grows and extends. Even if things can't stay the same, if not all twenty of us can come to my mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner, if we can't all fit in the kitchen to play Scattergories after dessert, at least we have our memories and this tradition to carry on no matter where we are during the holidays.  


There are countless things that I am thankful for, but believe it or not, I still haven't come up with something to write down on this year's table cloth.  It has been an interesting year (to say the least) and with so many blessings (although sometimes in disguise) it is hard to just pick one thing to encompass my thanks for an entire year.  I am thankful for the support my parents give me in everything I do, for my boyfriend who motivates me to be a better person, for my girlfriends who never cease to make me laugh even on the worst of days, for the opportunity to student teach and excel in my passion for education, for my bed at the end of an exhausting day, for my computer with which I can write and blog, and for so many more blessings I can't even put into words.  I'll be sure to report back with what I decide to write in permanent marker to remember for years to come...

Maybe this year I'll revert back to my thanks in 1999 (age 9) - "I am thankful for everything I have..." 

What are you thankful for this year?

Thanks

There is a spot in my agenda book to write down what I am "thankful for" at the end of each week.  The two lines of thankful declarations are laid out under each Sunday (the rightful end to a week, I hate when planners end with Saturdays) but I decided to share my thanks with my readers slightly prematurely, on Thursday.

I am thankful that I got to spend nearly a full week with C. It is so rare that I get to spend so much time with him since we started college. I think the last time we saw each other more than two days in a row was over a year ago. Time with family, bowling, road trips, and rainy days were all had this week, and all were made better with him.

I am thankful for Diet Coke. Headaches and exhaustion were plentiful this week, and each time a fountain Diet Coke was the perfect cure.

I am thankful for Dr. Kahn - the surgeon who performed my Wisdom Tooth extraction this afternoon. He did it quickly and painlessly. I anticipated much more misery with the surgery - I'm thankful that I am feeling surprisingly normal!

I am thankful for my Mom, the strongest person I know, to show me strength when I need it most. And Sara Evans. Because she made this song and I can't stop listening to it:

It's easy to lose track of your blessings in all the craziness of today. I find myself getting caught up in my weaknesses, in the drama of the media (Did anyone actually believe Donald Trump would run for President?!) and the "stresses" of college.

I am definitely thankful that my Vera Bradley agenda reminds me every week to look back on what I should be thankful for.