Turkey, turkey

I'll tell you about our Thanksgiving because it's pretty important to realize that it's not the turkey that makes the holiday great. It's the people clustered around the stove with forks.

To put it mildly, we've had better turkeys. Much better. This one was filled with surprise things (a plastic hanger thing wedged inside, a spare pop-up timer inside the cavity, and a huge bag of ooky bits).

Plus the oven either turned itself off or some pan nudged the OFF button on the control panel, and the turkey sat in a cold oven for an hour.

But I noticed that--It should smell like Thanksgiving, and right now it just smells like Thursday--and got things back on track--late, but back on track.

My daughter had to go to work (wrong! wrong! wrong!) so we actually stood right in the kitchen and ate a wonderful dinner.

As I was carving the rest of the turkey after she left, I noticed a piece of paper coming out of the turkey's rear end. *You may supply your own joke here* Yes, there was another bag of ooky bits tucked in there. I took it out, and the turkey just....deflated. Flat, flat, flat.

It's all good, as my daughter is fond of saying. And it is. It is ALL good. We had a nice dinner, made some fun memories, and the kids and I spent a lot of time saying, "I am thankful for you," because that's what matters.

It's not the turkey (luckily!). It's those moments of intense love--and not just knowing that there's love, but saying it.

I used to have a poster in my room that said something like: Not only to love, but to be told that I am loved. The realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave.

I don't have that poster up any more, but I don't need it. The words are etched into my heart, and I so sadly know that they're true.

Thanksgiving may have come and gone, and the turkeys have deflated flatter than a used Macy's parade balloon, but don't wait until next November to turn to someone you love and say, "I am thankful for you."

Hey, it's NOVEMBER!

Well, guess what sneaked up on me, and tried to creep on past. Yup, my very favorite month of the entire year!

I've been thinking about how such a terrible thing could have happened. I have several outrageous excuses reasonable explanations.

1. I celebrated my birthday for almost an entire week. It's the year before what the card industry humorously calls a "landmark birthday" (i.e., I'll be changing both numbers of my age, like, oh, 19 to 20, or 29 to 30), so when my splendid pals offered me the chance for lotsa fun, I took it. It was great!

2. I had revisions on my last book. I know, I know. You are ever so surprised, aren't you? I had revisions! Well, my darlings, every book has revisions. At least that's what they tell me. *chews fingernails nervously* You don't suppose they'd---LIE to me, do you?

3. There's this NaNoWriMo thing going on that I signed up for. Unless I write like the very wind, there's a very good chance that I won't get to 50,000 words by the end of the month. I also have this thing called a JOB that requires my presence and attention 8 hours every day, and a family that also requires my presence and attention 37 hours a day. I am a bit busy.

4. I had a lot of Halloween candy that had to be eaten. Hey, somebody has to do it, and you know me. I'm a step-up-to-the-plate kind of gal, and although I know the metaphor is baseball, let's face it. Most of us are stepping up to the plate at the table. That's what November is all about!

5. Thanksgiving! I plan to watch tv, write, and eat, not necessarily in that order, and not necessarily all at the same time, although let's face it, I will. I'm all about time management, and the most effective way to proceed through my busy life is to multitask. Thanksgiving is ideal for that.

6. I'm also very busy with counting my blessings. And there are many. Many.