Thanksgiving and other reasons for giving thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We go to my aunt's house for a late lunch. The food is always great. My aunt and uncle are wonderful people and the house is full of a very eclectic group of "family". We joke that the thanksgiving dining table is divided into North and South. My family (my father's folks) are very much southern cornbread fed. My uncle (who married my dad's sister a while back) is from New York. He and his two daughters, though transplanted to the south hold on to their northern heritage.

On the table are "yankee beans" (barely cooked green beans) and "southern beans" (green beans cooked with bacon to just the right mushiness). The meal is opened with two prayers - a Jewish prayer of Thanksgiving said in Hebrew and a Presbyterian/Methodist prayer. I am always thankful for both prayers. The first gives me a sense of discovery and a sense of awe. I do not understand what my uncle's son-in-law is saying but he always explains the meaning of the prayer and it makes me feel good to be included. The second prayer is usually short and words I've heard all my life. I do not feel the same sense of awe that I do as a handful of the group begins to speak in Hebrew, but I do feel a sense of comfort.

I am thankful for traditions.

The family changes every year, some missing through divorce, many added through marriages and births. There are more children running around than ever before. There was a moment in my aunt's living room when my 4-year old nephew had an ottoman turned on its side. He was draped across the top of it, trying to get it to roll. (Okay...I know square ottomans do not roll but he's four - not yet the rocket scientist.) I flashed back to 1969 in my grandmother's house where some of the now-adults in the room took turns rolling over the giant stool in the living room. (It was round by the way.) The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I am thankful for reminders of the child I once was.

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving is the four day weekend. Once we return home from my aunt's on Thursday evening, it is my intention to not leave the house for three days. Sometimes I am successful. With the exception of a quick run to the bank and to Joanne's Fabric store for a piece of template plastic, I was successful this weekend. I had great intentions of cleaning and getting ready to put up Christmas decorations. There were spurts of cleaning but for the most part, I sewed.

I put together 20 spiderweb blocks from a kit I purchased last year at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. I also worked on my pumpkin. One of our local shop owners does wonderful embroidery and she is teaching us how to make this pumpkin by Crabapple Hill. We had our first class a week or so ago and I felt I needed to work on my embroidery. The stem stitch has always been a big mystery for me for some reason. But now, I am addicted. So, for most of 2 days, while my husband played golf, Shelby and I sat on the couch watching movies, stitching and napping. Ahhh....

I am thankful for a good stem stitch, four day weekends at home, a puppy that likes to sleep on my lap and golf.