Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Heavy.

We celebrated the third annual Seattle Friends Thanksgiving last Saturday night - this is not to be confused with the MN Friends Thanksgiving tradition of which I believe is in its 10th year this year, and I have only missed a few since moving to Seattle. Both are fab events for sure. Here in Seattle its always a stellar lineup of glutinous eats, ultra competitive Pictionary and the wine flows like water. We also never skip the tear-jerkingly emotional "go around the table and say something you're thankful for" step in the process. This year was especially emotional as some folks had welcomed a new baby, another team is currently pregnant. New houses, new marriages and new and cherished friendships all dominated the tear ducts of gratefulness. This year was especially emotional for me as a very close and dear friend of mine had phoned me the night before with tragic news: Her mother, in all likelihood, has pancreatic cancer. We both sobbed as I listened to her talk about what she'd experienced since hearing the news only hours before. That moment where your life turns instantly from going through the daily motions, going to work, talking with friends, laughing at a happy hour, planning a trip, yadda yadda <<< to BAM! living and breathing every moment thinking and talking about cancer, and your fears and your hopes and your sadness and your appreciation. And trying to comprehend what it was like before this moment. Before this new phase.

Prior to attending the Thanksgiving celebration I had begun to craft my list of Thanks. Fairly obvious ones considering the year we've had:
+ For my new husband.
+ For our incredible wedding day and all of the love and support and generosity we felt - the energy in that room was something I'll never forget.
+ For our honeymoon - trips are so special and rare, and I'll never forget so many of the experiences we were lucky enough to share in Greece and Rome.

And I had to add another to that list.
+ For my mama. I'm very thankful for her. She is a pretty incredible gal and I adore our hour-long chats peppered with hilarity and recipes, and even just nothing special, just banter. I love you, mama!



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