Thanksgiving in Review..

For those of you who know my family- Thanksgiving is usually a big deal. Lots of food- tons of family running around- followed by football with uncontrolled napping... as well as shopping with unbridled glee 12 hours after.
However- this Thanksgiving was very humbling. I say that in a good way. Basically, it forced our family to look at all of the things we have to be thankful for.
A week before Thanksgiving- Papa (my mom's dad) passed out while he was taking a shower. He fell and got a compound fracture in his left leg. The incident got complicated by his knees- he'd had both of them replaced- so they're both metal. The break occurred right above his knee- so when he fell in the shower- he wasn't able to adjust himself to even get out. Fortunately, my mom's cousin was able to be reached and he was able to come help get him out of the shower while they waited for paramedics to arrive. Once he got to the hospital, they determined that he needed surgery- and since he's only got 30% of his heart working- it's considered a relatively large risk. Since he's always had such good health though- they went through with it and inserted a metal plate where the bone used to be. Surgery went well- and he spent the first few days in the hospital in Hays, Ks.
They transported him back to Ness City where he will be for the next seven weeks or so. He's doing rehabilitation and resting up there.

Basically- our whole Thanksgiving was completely "by the seat of your pants"... in fact- we didn't even know if we were going until a day before. We didn't feel right going to my grandma's house because we felt that would just be additional pressure- so we had our Thanksgiving meal at the Golden Corral. It was my mom's brother, his wife, my two cousins- Matt and Sarah, Dad, Max, Greg, Eva and myself. As we were eating- it dawned on me that for sooooo long I'd been afforded the opportunity to not have to worry about plans for Thanksgiving- it was always a given that we'd eat as a family at someone's house. Health had never before been an issue, and neither had availability.
What was it about that holiday that gave me the impression that you couldn't "eat out" with family? Had I really taken that much for granted in the past? Why did it feel so awkward to be sitting in a restaurant surrounded by strangers on a day when you're supposed to be Thankful for the food that's in front of you?
In all honesty- yes- I had been taking everything for granted. I had failed to appreciate the simple fact that I was able to see and spend time with my family... much less graze endlessly on the feast laid out before me. I have so much to be Thankful for- why is it that it takes a close call to bring you back down to earth?

This Thanksgiving- I will always remember. Not because it was an exceptionally good one... but because it brought to my attention what I should remember to be thankful for on a daily basis.

We were able to steal a back room at the Care Center in Ness, and continue our eating and snacking as a family. My mom, grandma, and grandpa were able to participate in the eating of pumpkin pie and various other snacks. THAT is the feeling that I will always remember. THAT is what humbled me... listening to Papa say his traditionally amazingly long prayer before we ate... I can tell you- this time- it didn't seem nearly long enough.

As amazingly unconventional as my Thanksgiving was- I wouldn't trade it for the world.