Thanksgiving in August

The last of the turkeys Couponman practically stole at a really good bargain last November fed the family last night.  Nothing better than hot turkey, hot dressing, hot mashed potatoes and gravy, and hot candied sweet potatoes along with my sister’s homemade potato flake crescent rolls in August.  Does this give me a free pass for November?

August is a perfect time for thanksgiving…I’m thankful for warm weather, evening hours that stay light, and cold turkey sandwiches from leftovers…  And a brother and sister who along with their families get together whenever we can, even to eat out-of-season turkey and trimmings.

I’m thankful for my family’s and my health…  The Worm is feeling back to her normal self.  Friday was scheduled for her grand finale from Triple Threat Camp — a dancing, singing, drama recital.   Only she woke up throwing up and it continued most of the morning.  “I don’t think I want to go to class today,” she’d weakly whispered to her mom.  “But can I just wear my camp shirt?”  Be still my heart.  We all have similar memories.  Right?  I had been sick on Christmas eve when I was ten.  Mom and Dad let me take a peak at my gifts on one of my trips from the bathroom.  (Incidentally my bride doll and many outfits Mom sewed for her would be my favorite gift ever.)  So that’s how I’d found the Worm that afternoon — sleeping in her bright yellow camp t-shirt.  By evening the bug (not to be confused with the Bug) had left.  With dark circles framing her eyes and pale cheeks, she sang a solo of her songs for us.

I’m thankful for a vacant curb in front of my house (not to be construed as an aversion to company)…  Newport Beach is only twenty-three miles from home, but million$ away from me in financial success.  Since my sister is still in town, we splurged and bought tickets for a Saturday Newport Harbor cruise, promising a view of sea lions in their natural habitat and a seaside tour of the rich and famous.  (Take a deep breath, this next sentence is a doozy.)  After a hour wait for a two-minute ride on the Balboa ferry (which we didn’t even need to take had we not been lead astray by a malicious GPS lady), a slow-motion drive that wasted another hour to find parking on the peninsula , a mile walk to the pier (during which my sister-in-law Sandie and I noticed not the expensive homes we passed, but those that actually possessed private parking), a few lazy sea lions hugging a buoy, and a view of $$$$$$ mansions of successful home-based entrepeneurs, I am so-o-o grateful for amble parking in front of my house.  (Whew! You made it.)  And I lied, I didn’t really know if the wealthy real estate owners made their money from home-based businesses; I only assumed so since I couldn’t see how they could possibly drive off the crowed peninsula to reach the office – until my sister said, “Heliports.”

I’m thankful I didn’t waste money on a airline ticket to a So You Think You Can Dance audition…  After an evening in front of the Wii playing Let’s Dance and coming in last every time when paired against my rhythmical daughter, my young energetic niece Sef, my sister, my five-year-old granddaughter who trips over her own feet, my eight-year-old grandson who did better with the photography than I did with the dance moves, and even the seventeen-month-grandson. 

I’m thankful for time with my family…  for a sister who makes me laugh, for a sister-in-law who shed tears with me when we couldn’t find parking (the mother in us had kicked in, and we phoned the other car [who did find parking], telling them like a true martyr to ‘take the boat tour without us’ [but they opted to wait patiently]), for my nieces Megan, Alyson, Sefora, and Nina, who laugh at my corny jokes, for a daughter who supports family events no matter how lame, for grandkids who seek out my company, and for a little grandson who never fails to reach up to me to be picked up (unless he has a large stub of colored chalk in his hand with an opportunity to draw on the sidewalk).

What are you thankful for?

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2. Miracles around us
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