Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

For us, the excitement of the day is already over. We ate our big meal at noon today. My parents came down to visit. I had the turkey in the oven by 7:30 AM covered in a nice spice rub and his cavity filled with onion, garlic, celery, and lemon. The stubborn bird ideally would have been done at 11 but I guess being an OSU turkey he kept fighting so he went back in the oven and we finally ate around noon. My Mom brought mashed potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie. I made green bean casserole, sweet potatoes topped with praline pecans, turkey gravy, rolls, and sausage stuffing.

Jonnie ate a few bites of turkey but his diet today has been brown sugar pop tarts. My Dad ate two plates of turkey and mashed potatoes but said he should not have had the second plate. We all were too full but that is typical of Thanksgiving. As suspected, my hubby disliked the Pinot Gris that I served so on top of turkey coma, I had a wine buzz after drinking my wine and his. My parents do not drive after dark so they left a while ago and all were too full to eat pie so we split the pie up. After a nap, I had a piece of pie and it was really good.

I am thankful for my family. Of course, I am thankful for my husband, son, and all of my in-laws (yes, I said thankful for my in-laws) but I am most thankful for my Mom & Dad. We do not see each other much because we're too busy with church activities, work, school, and shooting matches. If it weren't for Mom & Dad, I would not be here. Although they were quite overprotective and I was raised strictly, they encouraged me. Mom shuttled me to swimming lessons which I quit. Mom shuttled me to ballet where I was a laughing stock because my hair was too short to wear in a bun like the other girls plus I wore navy blue instead of black and pink along with the soft ballet shoes instead of the expensive leather ones. I quit that, too. Dad took me to Saturday morning basketball camps which I quit. I played violin and was the best in my class but I quit that, too, but that was because Dad bribed me with $20 to quit. I know that sounds horrible but I had violin class on Mondays so I wanted to get in extra practice on the weekends. Apparently I had quite a knack of setting up my music stand and pretending that I was part of a famous symphony at kickoff for both the Buckeyes and the Browns.

I also learned the value of hard work from my parents which has lead me to be successful in my career. As I sit here in my tattered Heidelberg sweatshirt, I think back to when I wanted to quit college the first day. My parents both drove to Tiffin and I remember my Dad was ticked. My peer facilitator and kids from my peer group along with my parents convinced me to stay. Although the degrees I graduated with are not entirely related to my career, I know the hard work paid off. I know my parents worked hard to help put me through college so I had a little student loan debt as possible when I graduated. Even then, if I defaulted on my loan payments, they were there to take over. I never did default and I paid off my loans in 5 years instead of 10.

I look at my son and wonder what he will want to do when he's ready to join clubs, sports, and other activities. Jon and I have said we will not force him into anything. I do admit last weekend, I was trying to convince him that being the drum major for OSU's marching band was what he wanted to do when he grows up. I just read an article in my email from NASCAR about Jimmie Johnson who won the Nextel Cup Championship and how he was encouraged by his family and grew up modestly. I know the money in racing is good but I'm not sure my heart could take sitting there if Jonnie's car hit the wall and caught on fire. Regardless of what Jonnie wants to do, we will be there with love and encouragement. I suppose an open checkbook will be required, too, if preschool is already a sign of things to come!

Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and yours for a wonderful day!