The Most Wonderful Time

So here's something most of you don't know about me. It never occurred to me that this was one of my "things;” you know those quirky habits, traditions, preferences that make each of our life stories so interesting. Anyway, I didn't know it was one of those until I mentioned it to my best friend last week and it was something that she never knew about me even though we've been friends for 18 years.

I love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Love it. Love it to the point of obsession. I love the balloons and the Rockettes and the Broadway numbers and all the different performers. I love the cheesy worn out jokes the Today Show hosts make as parade commentators. I watch it every year. No excuses, nothing that supercedes it on the television. I am so compulsive about it that we don't have an early dinner and won't go to anyone else's house before it's over. Most years I won't even answer the phone while it's on.

I don't really care about any other parade either. I can take or leave the Parade of Roses, 4th of July parades, even parades at Disney World. But the Macy's Parade is sacred. I cry when the cut the ribbon at the beginning, cheering "Let's have a parade!" and I will not turn it off until the credits roll over Santa as he makes his way through Harold Square. I've watched it polishing silverware as a young child, I've refused to let anyone out of the hotel room when spending Thanksgiving in Florida; I've made my children turn off movies and cartoons and Christmas specials to watch it. This year, I even Tivo'd it.

And yet, I could never go see it live. Why? Because I couldn't see all of it from the parade route. The ideal situation in that case would be to reserve a room in a hotel along the parade route - one with a veranda that I could sit on and drag the television out onto so that I wouldn't miss the commentators or the Broadway shows or the ribbon cutting.

I don't know why I put so much stock in the parade. I do know that in the very rare years I didn't watch the whole thing it made it very hard for me to get into the holiday spirit. Maybe it's the innocence of the parade, maybe it's because it reminds me of all the wonderful memories about the holidays when I was growing up. But I think I've been obsessed with this parade since the first time I saw it.

I hope that all of you are blessed to have something in your life that you are attached to because it evokes such wonderful memories.

Thanksgiving FAQ's

1. No I didn't make a Tofurkey.

2. Yes, I've made one before.

3. No, I didn't enjoy it.

4. We had everything but the turkey.

5. No, that's not a euphemism for sex.

6. Yes, you can make gravy without animal parts.

Hope yours was an enjoyable day as well.

"If the only prayer you ever said was 'Thank You,' it would be enough."

My Lesson In Gratitude

About six months before I left Los Angeles I was up in San Jose for a trade show. After working at the convention center all day, a couple of us were meeting some people for drinks and dinner at another, much swankier hotel than the one in which we were staying.

I didn't really know the folks we were meeting, they were business acquaintances whom I had never met face to face until that time.

I remember thinking they were much cooler than me, their jobs much more prestigious. They clearly made a lot more money than I did, and they could afford living in trendy parts of New York City. Their company clearly spent no expense to make sure they were comfortable and staying in an A+ hotel. Although they were funny and welcoming and lovely people, I felt inferior and just a smidge on this side of jealous.

After having a couple of martinis I excused myself for a visit to the ladies room. I walked in and there were a couple of women cleaning the bathroom. One was in a stall cleaning the toilet so I couldn't see her. The other was refilling the paper towels.

As I washed my hands, the woman cleaning the toilet came out. She was young, in her early twenties, Latino. She was very hot and tired; it showed in her face. She was also about eight months pregnant.

She eased herself onto the floor and took a drink of water. I'm sure she wanted nothing more than a nap.

I left the bathroom remembering how lucky I really was.

My wish for all of us this week is that we may all be aware of how much we have to be thankful for and how good we really have it.

Random NaBloPoMo Ramblings

Today starts a stint of night shifts at the hospital for the Land Baron. Not exactly ideal hours but the money is good and we figured out that he'd actually get to spend more time with the girls by working nights. He's been putting in loooong hours at the hospital and when he works twelve-hour shifts he's gone in the morning before the girls get up and comes home usually after they are asleep. Make that five days a week and the girls are a bit squirrely by day three or four. With night shifts, he's here to play with them once they come home from school and daycare, have dinner with them and start the bedtime process.

Pepper got her first haircut today. She's not exactly Rapunzel but she was starting to look like she had a mullet, so it was time. She sat stoically, watching the proceedings carefully in the mirror. It's hard to know what a two year old expects with a haircut, but this clearly wasn't it. Although she was psyched about the lollypop at the end.

It's been chilly here in the last week - I've loved it. It finally feels like November to me. But, in typical Maryland form, the closer we're getting to Thanksgiving, the warmer it's actually getting. Thursday it's supposed to be in the 70's. I have mixed feelings about this. And it happens almost every year here in Maryland, so you think I would have come to some conclusion by now. It's great to have weather where the girls can go outside and play while they have five days off in a row, but I really like it to be chilly over Thanksgiving.

I think I was going somewhere with all of this - but it's 10pm, I'm exhausted and the Pepper isn't exactly asleep yet - by which I mean she's still sitting at my feet awake and playing while watching some Muppets on TV. Her sleep has been all off the last few weeks- I'm not sure if it's because she's napping late at daycare or if she's overtired (which unfortunately, makes her sleep less) or maybe it's one of the other thousands of things that disrupts toddlers' sleep patterns. Anyway, I guess it means it's time for me to sign off for now and try to think of something witty and clever for tomorrow's post.