Kim’s Domain

I certainly had A LOT to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. David came with me down to Florida to share Thanksgiving with my extended family and we had a great time. I’m so grateful that I got to spend the holiday with family that I hardly ever see, and that David got to spend it with me. He, whether he wants to be or not, is a constant reminder that I should be thankful for the family I’ve got. I guess it’s a little sad that I need reminding to be thankful for family, but when you live so far away from everyone and don’t see them often, it happens.

My cousin’s kids are growing up so fast. The last time I saw them, they were I think 3 and 5? Now they’re 6 and 8! And really independently thinking! And so adorable you could just eat them up! I’ve got a video I took on my digital camera of my cousin’s youngest son dancing on a chair and singing a song he made up himself (sensitive readers be advised) called “Shake Your Toxic Buttocks.” I am definitely thankful for that, as I plan to hold onto that video and play it at his wedding (which I told him, and yet he performed for the camera anyway).

Weddings were sort of on the brain since one of my cousins got married right before Thanksgiving. Many of the people I spent time with in Florida were in Massachusetts over the weekend for the wedding, and then came down to Florida. I was working, of course, so I missed what apparently was a fantastic wedding. My aunt did show me pictures, but sadly there were no pictures of my cousin (the one who fathered the “Toxic Buttocks” child) and my possibly soon to be cousin-in-law (boyfriend of the sister of the groom) dancing with ties around their heads.

Sadly, the thought of divorce was also unavoidable, since the mother of my newly-married cousin is going through a nasty divorce, the irony lost on no one. But she is holding up really well, and I’m sure being surrounded by supportive family over Thanksgiving was a real blessing. The margaritas my cousin concocted for us certainly couldn’t have hurt. I know what you’re thinking, margaritas for Thanksgiving? I was skeptical as well, and mostly stuck to the beer and wine. But the best tonic for my aunt was when her son told her he was proud of her for how she’s handling herself. It was a reminder that parents like to get positive feedback from their kids just as much as the other way around.

As if my family ever needs a reason to drink, we had yet another this Thanksgiving. My grandfather passed away about a month ago, and we had a really nice memorial service for him Thanksgiving evening. We ate our delicious meal in the early afternoon, and that evening a few friends of my grandparents came over and we had a small service. My mom led the prayer, then each sibling, in birth order, talked about memories of their father. I learned things about my grandpa that I had never known. And it inevitably made me think about memories of my own parents growing up. After the service, in true Irish wake fashion, David and I set out the leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, having gotten our appetites back, and we all drank and played cards. It makes me sad that with all the great memories of getting together and playing cards I have of my mom’s side of the family, none of them involve my grandfather. He took himself out of this part of my family when he divorced my grandmother, she being the card shark matriarch. But he did come to my graduation from Northwestern. He certainly did his best to let us grandkids know that despite wanting to separate from our grandmother, he was still devoted to the rest of us.

Yeah, I have a lot to be thankful for.