Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone way too quickly.
The four-hour car ride with our little dog, Popcorn, on my lap as my husband drove, was filled with laughs. My daughter’s boyfriend brought along a comedy show that was perfect! We laughed and I can't tell you enough how much I enjoyed the ride! Even the rest stop was fun, if you can believe that! We walked the dog and bought some good snacks to enjoy through the second half of the journey! The time passed quickly, and as we neared my son and his girlfriend’s apartment, I could feel my heart smile even wider. Sharing the ride with my daughter, who is the most thoughtful, loving woman you could ever meet and her caring, loving boyfriend, was a perfect way for my husband and I to enjoy the journey, but now we were nearing the part where we would all be together!
I sent my son a text that we were a few minutes away and as we rounded the bend into his apartment complex I could see him and his girlfriend walking through the parking lot to greet us. After six long weeks of being apart – I just wanted to hug him close. With tears of happiness, I soaked in and cherished that hug so much. I didn’t want to let him go. If I could have hugged him down the steps and in the door, I would have…but it would have looked silly to the rest of the universe!
They had a delicious lunch waiting for us. I kept looking around the table, being sure to take that mental picture I always write about. With everyone’s schedules it is no longer easy having everyone together. This was my moment. It is imprinted in my mind and will always be alive in my heart.
I wish my extended family, my Mom, brothers, nephews, nieces and great-niece, along with my Aunts, cousins and friends could all be together, but logistics make that impossible. So, instead, I would treasure this time to devote to just my immediate, amazing family. I will look forward to everyone else posting pictures on Facebook so we may at least share the day in cyber space!
But, back in my son’s apartment, we were laughing and enjoying being together! I just kept looking over at my son and daughter and thinking how fast time goes by. How was it possible that they were all grown, adults, forging their own paths? Sometimes the minutes of our lives pass slowly, but I have found that no matter how slow the minutes, the years’ pass in a blink. My son in graduate school…. my daughter a teacher…. I am so proud!! Their choices in spouses - excellent!!
Thanksgiving dinner was approaching. We heated the food, which had been so lovingly prepared, and set the table. I must admit I will brine again! The turkey was amazingly good. The dinner ended with cupcakes baked by my daughter and a cheesecake baked by our hosts along with other treats. Delicious, sweet, wonderful – the desserts were as perfect as the entire Thanksgiving meal.
The rest of the weekend flew by and through all the events, a wine tasting, shopping, playing games, watching television, talking; I tried to appreciate every moment we were together. During the last few hours of our visit, we toured the campus where my son is studying for his PhD. It was a beautiful day, more like spring than close to winter, and as we walked around the campus, I knew our time together, this time, was inching to a close.
Saying good-bye is not easy. Maybe if I closed my eyes and wished really hard it would be Thursday morning again and we would just be pulling into the parking lot? It didn’t work. It was still Saturday, late afternoon, and we were packing up and heading back home.
As I hugged my son I flashed back to when he was a little baby. I remember one particular night, he wasn’t sleeping well and I was rocking him in his room. It must have been about 2 or 3 in the morning. I had him on my shoulder and his little head was turned toward me as his eyes were finally fluttering closed. His profile is etched in my mind. I remember thinking then that some day this little, precious baby boy would be a man, would be taller than me, with wide, strong shoulders, and now, here I was being hugged goodbye by this tall man, with wide, strong shoulders. A really good man, a man I am so proud of every minute of every day.
As we drove away, I looked in the back seat to see my beautiful daughter. I know how precious life is, and on this Thanksgiving holiday, I am so very thankful.
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