We thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving with our family from Missouri and an international friend who had no place else to go. He may have been a bit overwhelmed by the clan chaos, but I'm so glad he joined us.
I'm so very grateful for my family - flawed, blended, strained and all. Now that our house is cleared out, I'm left with the memories which are the real treasures. Often, we invest so much energy and anticipation preparing and working to make a day feel perfect, that it's easy to miss the actual event. Guard your heart and mind against that trend as you prepare for Christmas.
I often think negatively of "leftovers," and I certainly don't like the thought of being a leftover. Still, what's left after the jubilant celebration is the stuff of real life: the one who helps take out all the accumulated trash, the one who helps with the umpteenth load of dishes, the ones to empty the same dishwasher day after day after day. What's left is so, so valuable.
