arontius | Thanksgiving Day.

.....I suppose that Thanksgiving is defined in as many different ways as there are people. For my mother the meaning of Thanksgiving is very much different than mine. :-) As has become traditional I was all set to pick her up from her apartment and take her over to Gwen's house with Tamm and Rhys for the big Thanksgiving Dinner. She was really hesitant on the phone and I finally asked her if she really wanted to go. She tentatively asked if I would be very upset if she just stayed home today. At first I was determined that she get out of her apartment and come to dinner with us, just to interact with other friendly humans. But really? Happiness for her was a comfortable cushioned chair, a body wrapped by a gigantic and warm quilt, a purring kitty on her lap, and NASCAR racing on the television. :-)

.....I relented at that and she was relieved. I think she also was not looking forward to a cold drive on icy roads and several hours on chairs over at Gwen's house. We're on the look-out for a comfortable wheel-chair that is a little bigger in stature where she would be comfortable for a long while. I thought for a little of transporting her cushioned lift chair over to Gwen's. But the hassle would have been astronomical for all involved, including Mom. So I abandoned that idea. I packed some food for her from Gwen's and made sure she was fully stocked on Diet Cokes for the day. :-)

.....NASCAR? I never understood the excitement of NASCAR as a spectator sport. :-)

.....Starbucks was open today! That made it feel like a real holiday! :-) TBT and I shared coffee flavored milk and discussed plans as we always do. Then went back home to finish last minute preparations for Thanksgiving Dinner. Or, TBT did most of the 'preparations', I just did a little clean-up, then when a brain flash hit I went and finished up an article for the Flames and sent it to Rycheza. I was productive, I was. Just wish I could make that a regular thing. :-)

.....Dinner at Gwen's was superb, as usual. She cooks the best bird of anyone I know. I could eat her turkey until I explode, which I almost did. Also as usual. :-) TBT's cooking was excellent as well. Between Sweet Potato bake, pumpkin pie and spice cake, all sugar free, I felt no lack of sweets. Petr and Kierran came over with a fantastic smoked turkey (I've got to convince him to do a feast sometime again soon). Eileen cooked a ham that was delicious. Although by that time I was so stuffed, I nibbled ham and packed a bunch away to take home with me for snacks tomorrow. :-)

.....Madrun and Dillon joined us for dinner this year. I hope that our somewhat dysfunctional family was not too dysfunctional for them. :-) Lots of good conversation was had, which meant that by the time we looked up at the clock many hours has passed and TBT and I were on the verge of falling asleep. This was a shame as I had wanted to go and watch a game of 'Werewolf' played at Talon and Jenae's. Maybe at Christmas, if I can persuade them. :-)

.....The power had gone out again sometime during the day as I returned home to the Television on and running in the living room and all the clocks blinking away furiously. This time I made sure the sprinklers were turned off first thing before I started turning everything else off. No ice sculptures thank you! Althought the roads are already becoming much better to negotiate. The ice is melting away at a pretty good clip.

.....I've never been 'Anti-Thanksgiving' as it has always been more about food for me than Plymoth Rock and the Pilgrims. :-) But I am grateful for having TBT in my life and a lot of good friends. The past year has had a lot of challenges, but I survived them all with my sanity relatively intact. Next year looks to be even better than this last one, if just a tad more busy. :-)

.....The one thing I did forget to do was to call Sean. I'm supposed to go to Mom's tomorrow to help with some clean up, so maybe we'll give him a call and put him on speaker. It'll be like a mini-family reunion. :-)

.....YAWN! Time for bed.

.....Aaron / Arontius.