the thankful feast

There is already tinsel strung all over town, but I'm still soaking up the gifts of Thanksgiving. This years feast was different in many ways. We stayed in Texas and hosted a small group of friends here at the house. It was our first year to not be with our family which felt strange, but, surprisingly, it also felt exciting to be in our house and not have to travel. Our best friends in town, Whitney & Chris, came over with their family and everyone divided duties on the cooking.

The girls played and twirled around in their fairy wings from Whitney's momma outside and managed to entertain themselves which was sort of miraculous. I loved setting the table and fussing around the house the days leading up to the main event. The weather couldn't have been nicer and even allowed us to enjoy our new patio furniture. Conversation was easy, food was divine, and so on and so on. The only thing missing was a call from Marilyn. Holidays can be especially bittersweet when you've lost someone and that sinking feeling kept creeping in even with all the joy in the air.
 
What keeps bringing me back to the now and drawing me back to the joy is my family. I'm incredibly grateful for my husband and my baby, so grateful for my family back home, and grateful for my new family of friends here. Whitney's daddy said grace as we all held hands (even the littles) on Thanksgiving and I was steadied by his words and by the feeling of family and support around us.

I read this, by Anne Lamott, about saying grace… "We savor these moments out of time, when we are conscious of love's presence, of Someone's great abiding generosity to our dear and motley family, these holy moments of gratitude. And that is grace."