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| Grandma Pearl with my Uncle Kavin and cousin Ryan, showing off the yeast rolls they made |
When Leonard Nimoy passed away just a few weeks after my grandma, I took it really hard.
Really. Hard.
I never met the man, and didn't know him personally, but his passing felt deeply personal to me. I felt a loss that I couldn't then, and still can't to this day, explain. All this is leading me to the subject of my post.
Today is Thanksgiving. A day where people get together with family or friends (or both) and enjoy life. They don't have to buy anything, they don't have to feel pressure to come with a gift. They simply come as they are.
Today is a day to be thankful for what you have. So, in the spirit of the day, I'm going to be as thankful as I possibly can for all the things I have, and try to find the hidden joy in the sadness that will surely try to creep in.
I will find the joy in the 36 years I had with my grandma. I will remember all the wonderful, loving things she did for me, for my brothers and cousins, for her children and extended family. I will not dwell on her absence.
I will remember all the Thanksgivings of my childhood with my large family all gathered around the giant franken-table in my grandma's dining room and kitchen. There were five kids, three sets of parents, and a set of grandparents (plus usually a minimum of two dogs roaming the house and) circling the table.
There was always so much food and laughter. I don't remember any specific conversations, just an overwhelming sensation of being loved, happy, fed, and cared for.
So, today, I am thankful for all the memories I am blessed with to keep me warm when the chill of sadness tries to move in.
Today I am making it a goal to help build memories with my girls so they have something to chase the chill away.
Because I am determined to stay warm today.
And I hope you can stay warm today, too.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
