Well, the table was beautiful.
I kept feeling like I was playing house while Rome burned, but the table was beautiful.
It was a good day. Sober — we all felt Rome’s flames — but we have much for which to be grateful. Friends – new ones we just met today, around the table – old friends back in touch. Today, we told each other how grateful we were to be here for each other.
Today we also thought about the people in North Dakota, freezing and being water cannoned, and hoped that because today the people torturing them are having a holiday, that they got a break. We know that the temps are plunging, and we prayed for them at table, that the coveralls and blankets we sent arrived before the freeze. That they could hold on. That the water cannons would stop. That justice would roll like a mighty river…
Some sad news was shared today — our friends from Mexico City, Tech Boy’s coworkers, who have been working on getting their green card, and have passed all the paperwork and were just waiting for the actual card in the mail — are leaving. They don’t want their daughter to grow up and have the light of joy extinguished from her by hate. This breaks our hearts, but we understand too well. So, we celebrated today, because our dinners together are limited.
Today was definitely bittersweet, because we were all mindful of losses, even as we were grateful. But, there were lighter moments, too. You guys, today, my Dad showed up for Thanksgiving, and he hasn’t in about eight years. Holy crow. Granted, the call of the NFL was strong, and he left after a couple of hours, but STILL. That’s pretty huge for him, and I appreciated the gesture.
We got out the coloring books. We got out the sun-catcher kits. We got out the glitter. My favorite moment was watching my nephew standing, stock still, in the middle of the kitchen, clutching a book, reading… while people ate pie and chit-chatted in the next room, while they rinsed dishes and loaded the dishwasher behind him. He was right in the middle of everything, ignoring all of us.
That’s my boy. And this weird little group of people are my people. And, though we aren’t always on the same page, for them I am truly thankful.