Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is the most wonderful time of the year. It's the one day I love to cook as much as I love to eat. And it's the one day I get to sleep in until 7am. So much to be thankful for! Right now, we're all laying around watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and it's Thursday so The Office will be on too. And Garrett is sick, so he is sitting still long enough for me to snuggle him. 

This morning Alan and Zach went off to play in the ward Turkey Bowl and I stayed home and scrubbed the kitchen floor. (Turkey tastes better when the kitchen floor is clean.)  I was going to scrub the floor yesterday, but I got busy grading research papers and watching Wyatt and Garrett win 2nd and 3rd place in the Turkey Trot and cheering at Tatum's soccer games. 

When Alan and Zach returned from the Turkey Bowl, Zach did the touchdown dance because the Young Men beat the Elders, and I did the touchdown dance because Alan didn't throw his back out during the game, (so we can still get up for Black Friday shopping at 3 a.m.)

Today I am giving thanks that my kids are healthy and happy, and young enough that I can still control them. But mostly I'm giving thanks for Alan because he is such a great dad, but also a great mom. He has saved the day many, many times this past month. He is consistent and persistent and resistant. I hope and pray I never have to go through a single Thanksgiving without him. If so, there will be puddles of tears in the gravy.

Alan and I worked away in the kitchen, side by side, for the better part of the morning and then we all sat down and worked away at our turkey for the better part of 15 minutes. We strategized this year and went to the beach before dinner rather than after. The plan was to release some serotonin before we consumed some tryptophan. We thought it might prevent the after-dinner crash. But it didn't. I actually nodded off twice during dinner, and I slept all the way through the clean-up and the pumpkin pie. (Next time I take a red-eye flight I'm going to hide a turkey in my carry on so I can sleep on the plane.)

During dinner we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Garrett said he was thankful for Thanksgiving and Wyatt said he was thankful for the food. When it came to me, I said I was thankful for Tatum's soccer coach because she is really showing Tatum what she's made of. (She had to run and do drills on the beach for an hour today.) Tatum and Zach put the rest of us to shame when they said they were thankful for the gospel and for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost and the Prophet and the temple.

"Oh right, that too . . . " I added. 

Then Alan got all mushy and about being thankful for his beautiful wife. Then he said, "Just kidding." (just kidding. He didn't say just kidding.)

Overall is was a pretty boring day, but I love boring! Give me boring or give me death! We missed our families though, and I got happy/sad/envious watching the slideshow Eric put together of my family eating my piece of the pumpkin pie.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!