Contemplating Thanksgiving

For many years, it seemed to me my family was shrinking. We lost our Mom when I was 16, our Dad when I was something like 30. Our little sister died at age 28, I think I was 36-ish... it all kind of ran together. In the mean time brothers and sister were building lives and families and their own stories. We were busy and kind of drifted apart. Recently (in the past 2 years) we have begun to reconnect (Liz and I go farther back on the reconnect) but I want to say how grateful I am for that. It is my main Thanks at Thanksgiving. Our kids have significant others (shout out to Rodrigo! an ultimately wonderful man) some of them have babies... our family is GROWING again. And I for one am happy to see it.

I am also grateful for all my friends, even though many of you are Avatars. You are like family to me, and my RL friends, the few I can count ARE family to me. The world is changing, connections are changing and I find it all very fascinating. I wish I could share a meal with each and every one of you. Fundamentally we connect in the same way we always have, it's the media of connection that is changing... and if we are vigilant, the quality will not suffer.

This Thanksgiving I am grateful for my friends and new extended family, I am grateful to live in this blessed country with the freedoms we take for granted, I am grateful for my health and my husband and my dog, and my son. I am grateful for our troops who sacrifice to keep us free.

I will post with food pics and a Thanksgiving story if I ever get the pictures worked out. I was busy cooking and not photoshooting, but bear with us here, dear Bro-in-law has the pics. We'll work out the details... or I will pester him to death.

See you soon.