Still Thankful

Thanksgiving may be over and we may be in the full on Christmas mode but it's never too late to remember all the blessings in your life that you have to give thanks for.

Most importantly I am thankful I got to spend the holiday at home with my parents and my sister. It's been far too long since both sister and I were in the house at the same time and I know it makes my parents so happy to have us both at the dinning room table and both sleeping in our own rooms.

We watched movies, cooked and ate delicious foods, snuggled on the couch, stayed in our pj's and bundled up to go out. It was quiet and simple and time passed slower for a few days. It was so nice to have a few extra days instead of the usual whirlwind weekend trip I'm used to taking. There was time to unpack and settle in and breathe.

I think I kind of revert back to childhood when I'm in my parents' house for longer that 48 hours. I drink chocolate milk and let them take care of me. I sit in the back seat with my sister instead of the driver seat, and we hold hands and say grace around the dinner table, and I feel like a kid again and not a independent/young adult/working girl/whatever.

These holidays, the food and the traditions and the warmth of it all, wash over me and restore me. Sitting between my parents on the couch with just the Christmas tree lights, "playing piano" with my sister. They make it harder to go back to work, but they also give me the strength to do just that.

One day I know all my holidays wont look like this, the four of us.They'll be shared with other families or even separate. And it makes my heart ache. I can't think about it too long, it makes me want to grab my sister and move home. Not getting to see them every holiday is a part of growing up I'd like to skip please.

So I will be very thankful of every holiday together.  And I will store away these memories of hot chocolate with marshmallows in my holiday mug. Of my parents asking sister and I if we remembered our gloves, our scarf, "are we sure we're going to be warm enough?" Of airport picks ups and train drop offs. Of every goodnight and "Happy Thanksgiving" said in person and not over the phone.

Comments

  1. You and your family are so blessed to have each other and to love each other the way you do. Thank you for sharing that with us.

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  2. Shannon, I can totally relate to what you say about how your parents just love to have the family all together again. Even at 31 I know there is nothing more that my mom loves than to have her "babies" all under her roof and at her dinner table. Thank goodness for the holidays that feed our souls in this way!

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  3. Shannon, as a Mom of two married children, you are right on. Your life will change one day and while that is a good thing, it will be both an adjustment for you and your parents. I know. We have had to share our children for 11 years now and we make it work the best we can. We'll have Christmas on the 27th this year because that is when our daughter and Grandson can be here. They live 13 hours away and we just do what we have to do. Enjoy these days and I know your Mom and Dad certainly are. Christmas blessings!

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