The end of 2008 is closing in on us, as is indicated by Thanksgiving, the official beginning of the holiday season. It's one of my favorite holidays, and why shouldn't it be? Who doesn't love an excuse to stuff themselves silly until they feel nauseous and swollen like an over-inflated beach ball?! Oh wait, I have that excuse and feel that way almost everyday, I'm pregnant! No seriously, love this holiday for the food, the family and the lack of pressure to provide gifts.
For a number of years, our usual holiday weekend is spent up at my family's cabin in Jemez, New Mexico. The Cabin is great for a number of reasons:
1) It's really beautiful up there.
2) There is no TV, internet or cell phones.
3) You only have to change out of your PJ's or brush your teeth if you really want to.
4) Anarchy rules. Nobody has to do anything they don't want to and are entitled to do what ever strikes them at any time. That includes spontaneous naps, reading, drinking, smoking, eating or hiking. Staring off at the cliffs, creek or roaring fire for extended periods of time, is considered appropriate behavior.
5) Playing board games or cards for hours, in front of the fire, while intoxicated, is really fun.
6) You usually only drive to get there and to leave, but if you do drive during the stay, it's usually to go on a gorgeous hike in the mountains.
This year for Thanksgiving, we are not going to the cabin, we are going to Colorado to visit with Erik's parents and sister, Megan, who is flying out from NY. Even though we will miss the Cabin and the festivities there, we are totally looking forward to a great weekend with his family. For some unknown reason, Erik and I have never done T-day together in CO, and it is very much overdue. We wanted to see everyone before the baby came and still have enough days there, so it didn't feel rushed, and this weekend fit the bill.
Roadtrips, even short ones, are something that Erik and I love doing. We each have very distinct roles on trips and find it easy to just "do our thing" on the road. One of the things I enjoy the most is getting to have uninterrupted talks with him about anything and everything. I usually come up with some random questions about our future, our dreams or some hypothetical situations, and we have fun answering them together. For this trip, we will certainly spend time talking about what is in store for our future, especially in regards to becoming new parents, but we will also take some time to talk about what we are thankful for. I know it sounds cliche, but I like that Thanksgiving really does remind me to step back, look at my life objectively, and notice what I am thankful for. Honestly, I don't do that enough and I should. Despite Erik's and my struggles, we have an incredible life. We have each other, wonderful families and friends, a baby on the way, a house that stresses us out but is loaded with possibilities, our health, and the resources we need to keep eating and living a good life, even if it is just for now. He and I are the type that will always want more and will probably always have a hard time not getting caught up in what we are lacking at the time. It's not easy, but we try to remind ourselves to step back and put it all in perspective. Sometimes we are lucky and get a rush of amazement, washing over us, that fills us with a sense of accomplishment and gratefulness for what we have in this life. Those are the moments when I feel the most peace and contentment, and know that everything will be OK.
My Thanksgiving wish to all of you, is that you will not only take a moment to take stock of what you are grateful for, even if it's something small, like the smell in the air on a crisp fall day, or the savory taste of your favorite dish, but I wish for you, the sensation of feeling totally grateful, even when life isn't everything you hope it to be.
Happy Thanksgiving! May all of you have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Love,
Camian
P.S. I haven't posted a link besides my own website in awhile, but here is a fave of mine that gets a lot of traffic this time of year.
http://www.epicurious.com/
P.P.S. I really tried to post some pictures today, but Blogger was having issues.... Sorry!
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1 comment:
I'm glad to hear you say that. A powerful lesson I have learned in the last few years is that gratitude is not only extremely valuable, but also extremely powerful. By focusing on what I am grateful for, or even repeating a mantra of thanks, I have managed to brighten my world, ground myself and even alleviate headaches and nasea. Seriously! It's powerful stuff. As I said in the photo book I made for Tatiana, "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was 'Thank you,' that would suffice." ~Meister Eckhart
Blake and I have been discussing that too: we always "pray" for things we want, yet rarely remember to give a prayer of thanks when we get them. (Like THANKS for Obama's win! How many of us prayed for that?)
And thanks for our cabin and that we will get to live the cabin dream as a family around Christmas this year with our newest member. I can't wait!
If anyone wants to see the photo book I made of Tatiana's pregnancy, filled with quotes I chose as my blessings for the new family, copy and paste this link:
http://www.photoworks.com/photo-sharing/shareSigninBook.jsp?shareCode=A754672C689&cp=ems_shr_alb_emb&cb=PW
XOXO
M
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