“Isn’t that the whole point of Thanksgiving?  Everybody has a place to go.” ~ Buffy: Pangs.

I’ve had a bit of a create-your-own Thanksgiving today - and it’s something for which I give thanks.  A few weeks ago I found out that Tom was going to have to leave for China again, on Thanksgiving.  Mom invited me to head back East with her, but all of the kennels in San Francisco were full, Pat was heading down to San Diego and unfortunately neither Luna nor Cocoa fit under the seat in front of me.  So I was stuck in the city and I thought I’d be alone.  I didn’t mind too much; I’ve never been big on the turkey holiday.  I figured I’d just curl up with the dogs, eat left-overs from dinner last night and watch Buffy.

Then Mom came up with a suggestion - my brother didn’t have any plans either, and couldn’t go back East either (also with the big dogs).  Instead, he would come up to San Francisco and we could hang out together.  Then John and Kendra invited me to join their family and friends, so we even had good food.  Sadly, Quin couldn’t make it until after the dinner - but I did get some family time on this holiday.  Before the end of everything, Brogan and Des invited me down to visit them too.  I had more invitations than I knew what to do with.  How loved do I feel?

It turned out to be a great day, even though Tom left at the crack of dawn.  John and Kendra’s daughter was being baptized this morning.  So I headed over to St. Kevin’s, a small Catholic church.  I’d never been there before; it’s a really pretty church.  Oliver spent most of the service sitting next to me (and on my lap) until he got too wiggly and Kendra called him over to sit with her.  He’s such an adorable kid - one of the hymns was being performed in Spanish, complete with guitar, fiddle and accordion and Oliver was dancing at the edge of the aisle.  Kendra told him to stop, which I thought was silly - he was just enjoying the music quietly and not disturbing anyone… but he’s not my kid.

The food was delicious, and I ate far too much as per expectation.  I might be a vegetarian, but I can still enjoy mashed potatoes and gravy, cake, corn, spinach and cheese and veggie stuffing.  Yum.  I spent much of my time entertaining Oliver and Griffin (they enjoyed exploring my wallet, playing with my cellphone and brushing my hair with a broom.  Yes, good times).

Quin arrived early in the evening and we hung out together, watching Mythbusters and snacking on tasty delights such as frozen pizza, leftovers and popcorn.  But we laughed and made stupid jokes and it was family.

All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for.  Family, friends, warm puppies, a great house, a chance to follow my writing dreams.  Thank you.

Posted on November 23rd, 2006 by Kat
Filed under: General