Crowd Noise & Blessings

Thanksgiving and football go together.  Ever since I can remember there was at least one game being monitored while the fragrance of a roasting turkey spread through the house.  Every year Mom and Dad would go hunting early Thanksgiving morning.  About the time I reached 12 or 13 Mom trusted my kitchen skills enough to extend their time away and I would start the meal myself.  By 15 I was doing the entire thing on my own.  As vital to the holiday as turkey, hunting and thankfulness, was the noise of the football crowd, my yelling brothers and the sound of a good tackle.

My first Thanksgiving away from my family was not much different as far as football was concerned.  In fact, if we were at my in-laws', the men/boys were usually tossing a ball around in the yard or street, while the girls made dinner- the game on TV keeping us company inside.

When I started hosting the holiday at our home in Alaska, we usually invited a few guys without family to visit.  You got it- the games always on. 

This was my first, noticeably, football-less Thanksgiving.  On the actual day, it was not a big deal.  I hardly noticed the lack of crowd noise with all of the kid noise in the house.  The girls and I did check the scores on my phone now and then- mainly because we had unanimously decided Green Bay and Dallas needed to lose (obviously, we should have cheered more diligently against both!). So yesterday, as the dust settled from my trip and I tried to find something to do now that the kids were back at their dad's, the college games called to me.  Isn't it weird to be a girl, sitting alone- the nearest boys 5 miles away, flipping back and forth between games? Probably, so I'm probably not going to risk explaining to you my fascination with NASCAR!  Maybe I'll save that for when the 2012 season starts...

Today, in lieu of football, I worked.  Then I had lunch with the girls.  Then more great conversation with a valuable friend.  I am tired.  My mental gymnast has pulled a muscle, so I will spare you from the subsequent processing and continue my Blessed List.  Yesterday's 21 things, added to the 33 before, brings me to:


55 Stretching- lift your tight aching arms above your head and streeeeeetch, or press your toes up on the wall and stretch your calf muscles....hold it....oh, that hurts!  But now, that's done, doesn't if feel good to stretch? Now take your self out of the comfort zone and blog, or contact someone you've been afraid you've hurt, or ________ you fill in the blank.  What stretches you?  Oh, it hurts a bit.  Now that it's done, it's feeling pretty good to stretch.

56 Recipes- make me feel like a whiz in the kitchen.  Someone else's vision on my table is very satisfying when put together by me.

57 Pictures- tell the truth in an artistic way.  I love photographers, the ones who consider themselves to be "real photographers" and those who don't.  You all bless me with your point of view.


58 New Socks- If I had a trillion dollars, I'd wear new socks every day.


59 Grace- a blessing, unearned, undeserved.  Beautiful and rich.


60 Lilacs- the purple ones especially.  I love how they stink up a whole neighborhood!  I love that my new house has them. I love the memories they give me.

61 My Old Horse Charlie- a million years ago he was the vehicle I accessed to go fast, get away, think, process.


62 Crosses- used to mark the memory of someone important.  Used to pay the price by Someone vital.

63 Spontaneity- because it makes the day worth seeing through.

64 Jewelry- the special pieces- a reminder of a loved one or an important event.  The inherited pieces, the going away gift from a friend, the birthstone of a child, the gift from a brother the year he fought cancer, the gift from another brother deployed half a world away, the plastic "diamond" my kids gave me to remind me that I'm loved...

65 Architecture- artistic, functional lines.

66 Childlike Faith- pure, simple, trusting.

67 Pockets- a fabulous addition to every clothing item.  Okay, well almost every, I just remembered the shoes with the zippered pockets we all used to have.  Those shouldn't come back.  Ever.

68 Naps- Mom, you were right when I was four.  I remember the adamant fit I threw when you told me that some day I would love the opportunity to take a nap.  "I will NEVER want a nap."  Write it down, Mom knew better!


69 Newborn Snuggles- what's not to love?  They smell so good, feel so warm and squishy. They grunt and sigh and depend on you wholly!

70 Nail Polish-  because it dresses up a tomboy's appearance pretty quickly.

71 People- everyone has a story.  Everyone is valid. 


72 Contacts- because wearing my glasses somehow makes me feel disconnected from the people around me.

73 Laughter- because it's contagious.


74 Lunch With The Girls- blesses me, just because I have "girls".


75 Fire- the sounds, colors, power, warmth and smell.  Amazing.