for all this I give thanks...
THANKSGIVING
DAY… Thursday, November 28th… I woke up early this morning, having
gotten a good night’s sleep. I
immediately began to think about the meaning behind this day – as I do every
year, in part, I think, because I am a writer and archivist of the family. Two-thousand-thirteen was a tumultuous year –
Angie has been sick and in-and-out of the hospital since early January; Ashley,
Stephan and Daisy moved back into my house in early summer and are now waiting
to hear if they have a house of their own; Christopher is in the first serious romantic
relationship I have known with Chelsey; Erich is approaching his first
Christmas as MPU Lead at Sears; Chris H is once again working, and he and Nick
are still with me; and I returned to school at NIU in the Fall despite
reservations about Angie’s health, and have enjoyed every moment on campus,
relishing the independence that my actions presage.
Events
in the lives of our extended family also took center stage at various times
during the year – Kathy was diagnosed with Breast Cancer, and underwent
surgery; There were many births among the rented kids and their growing
families – Jeff and Olivia Mueller welcomed a new little boy, as did Jennie
Irving. Ryan and Sara Rodgers welcomed a
little girl, as did Lila and her husband.
Sean Rodgers and his wife, Ashley, welcomed a second little boy into
their family as well. Paul Fina received
his Doctor of Pharmacy degree. Rose Carr
celebrated 10 years cancer-free and Sara Rodgers celebrated her 5 year
cancer-free re-birthday. For the last
couple of months there have been 8 adults, 2 dogs (for a while it was three), 8
cats and a turtle named Frankie sharing 1311 N. Church Street and although
there have been some rough patches, we haven’t killed each other yet.
My
Papa has been gone 41 years and Erhard’s mother, Lina, has been gone 17 years,
both October 18th; Erhard’s father, Joseph, 13 years June 15th; Mama,
6 years May 12th. Erhard, was
gone, 2 years this October 13th; Steve, a year September 22nd,
and Mike Ruszczak a year September 26th. Praise the Lord; we lost no
one this year, although Angie did give us a series of frights with her health. Time has dulled some of the edges of sorrow,
but never for more than a few heartbeats at a time. Yet we survived. We laughed.
We celebrated. We moved forward.
I
have been so blessed these last twelve months, rescued from disaster and my own
devices more times than I can count. My
faith in God and his angels has been made stronger; my love for those I call my
children, and rented children deepened beyond even what I could have understood
just a year ago. My extended family, my
friends… whatever is good and holy and sacred in my life I have once again been
shown is best expressed by your love, your faith, your assistance. I am fortunate that my daughter-in-law, Ashley,
whom I adore, and I have become even better friends since she has lived under
my roof – to her immense credit in putting up with all of us.
To
say I am thankful seems trite; the actual emotion runs so much deeper. I have learned to not take anything for
granted because over the course of this year there have been many times when
even putting together a complete meal was a greater challenge than could be met
on some days. We came very close to
having utilities turned off and had health concerns unaddressed, sometimes for
weeks. Automobiles didn't always
cooperate with our budgeting plans and long-deferred, but now pressing
household maintenance threatened to completely disrupt our lives. Yet we came together and persevered, and
triumphed in both large and small ways over the challenges presented to
us. Without my family, extended family,
and friends, tough times would have been catastrophic.
There
is little editorial to add, words fail to convey everything I feel, yet as a
wordsmith, they are the tools I have been given to communicate my love, my
appreciation, my awe. There has always
been some debate as to the exact details of that first Thanksgiving, who
brought what, who was present… but at the center of that story is a cautionary
tale of pride broken into humility and elevated to gratefulness – our own
lives, my life mirrors that process, sometimes daily. As we gather with family and friends this day…
May serendipity surprise you, may the Lord bless you… may the joy be
overflowing…
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