Deriving AHA from Disappointment

After yesterday's and last night's "adventures" I wasn't really expecting a whole lot out of today. And it was good that my expectations were low, because we did a whole lot of nothing for a good part of the day.

The 3 kids and I sat on the couch and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was great fun! We were all fascinated by the marching bands, the dancers, the singers, the Rockettes, the floats and of course all the balloons. They asked repeatedly if we could go see the parade live sometime. I know better than to promise my kids anything, unless I am absolutely, positively, 100 percent, guaranteed sure that I can deliver. Needless to say, I don't promise my kids much. But I have a list of things in the back of my head that I want to do with them. The Macy's Parade was just added to that list. I'm thankful that I have the capability to take the kids on trips every now and then, even small ones.

After the parade (and after my daughter finally threw up), I spent the next 3 hours drifting in and out of sleep on the couch. The kids, who were all feeling much better, played together in the living room, making obstacle courses for each other to climb over and through, playing "horsey" on my oldest, and imagining their way through the afternoon. I am extremely thankful that all 3 of them have a never-ending imagination, and they can all occupy each other for hours.

Once the kids were dressed and had gone to their grandparent's house, I managed to get up and take a shower. I was definitely thankful for the shower. I always feel better after a shower. I had canceled dinner plans with friends because I couldn't move off the couch. Now I was mobile, but felt compelled to cancel the dessert plans I had so not to infect my gracious hosts. Again, plans were thrown out the window. Still, I have so much to be thankful for that it's not fair for me to complain about missing dinner.

Before I had the aforementioned dinner and dessert plans, I had been thinking that maybe I would volunteer at a soup kitchen or something similar. I've never had to be alone during the holidays, and my heart goes out to those who have. This year, I spent part of Thanksgiving Day alone. But I was alone in the comfort of my warm house, after being freshly showered and wearing clean clothes. All of these are things to be thankful for.

My life is not perfect. But I am, perhaps, the luckiest person in the world. Happy Thanksgiving.