This is one of my favorite memories from last Thanksgiving. I wrote about it a little on this site here. http://www.marla-deen-fit.net/3/post/2011/11/the-day-after-and-no-shoes.html
Last year, at this time, we had lost my father after a long illness. My father was basically blessed with 15 years that were given to him after a heart transplant. I had been known to call him a "cat with nine lives" or a "roach" for all the times he escaped the grim reaper. At Thanksgiving we were keenly aware of the empty place that would be at the table. We still had a very fun, festive and thankful time. My brother was a big part of the celebration. He was king in his kitchen sharing laughs and jokes and making everyone feel good. Thanksgiving was truly his day. He totally had the whole eat, drink and be merry thing down to a tee! He and his wife are, or were - I'm not really sure how to say that, huge foodies. It was all about the ingredients, the preparation, presentation, and, of course, the deliciousness! It was a great day of eating, drinking, toasting and enjoying our family time together.
This Thanksgiving we have another empty place. It occurred suddenly and tragically over the Fourth of July Holiday. It means that we will be celebrating Thanksgiving without my brother on the day he loved so much. We will do our best to eat, drink and be merry in his honor. We will have great food, and lots of it. Yet, I am afraid it will be different, quieter, and empty of the jolliness that he brought. We plan to change things just a bit. We know we can't re-create all of the past traditions in the same way this year.
This is the time of year to be thankful and honor all of those friends and family you love (even though they might drive you crazy at times). It is also the time to be even more thankful for and honor even more all of the memories of those we have lost.
I know this post has nothing to do with fitness and health. I think I felt compelled to write it for my own mental health. Thanks for listening.
Last year, at this time, we had lost my father after a long illness. My father was basically blessed with 15 years that were given to him after a heart transplant. I had been known to call him a "cat with nine lives" or a "roach" for all the times he escaped the grim reaper. At Thanksgiving we were keenly aware of the empty place that would be at the table. We still had a very fun, festive and thankful time. My brother was a big part of the celebration. He was king in his kitchen sharing laughs and jokes and making everyone feel good. Thanksgiving was truly his day. He totally had the whole eat, drink and be merry thing down to a tee! He and his wife are, or were - I'm not really sure how to say that, huge foodies. It was all about the ingredients, the preparation, presentation, and, of course, the deliciousness! It was a great day of eating, drinking, toasting and enjoying our family time together.
This Thanksgiving we have another empty place. It occurred suddenly and tragically over the Fourth of July Holiday. It means that we will be celebrating Thanksgiving without my brother on the day he loved so much. We will do our best to eat, drink and be merry in his honor. We will have great food, and lots of it. Yet, I am afraid it will be different, quieter, and empty of the jolliness that he brought. We plan to change things just a bit. We know we can't re-create all of the past traditions in the same way this year.
This is the time of year to be thankful and honor all of those friends and family you love (even though they might drive you crazy at times). It is also the time to be even more thankful for and honor even more all of the memories of those we have lost.
I know this post has nothing to do with fitness and health. I think I felt compelled to write it for my own mental health. Thanks for listening.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!
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