So can you believe that next week is Thanksgiving?!?!  I mean, seriously, where did the year go?!?!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  Why?  Because it’s the holiday that everyone on my mom’s side of the family gets together in this little town in South Texas where my grandparents live.  This is a huge deal… we now have over 60 people in our family from my grandparents on down to all the great-grandchildren!  I joke that the town’s population doubles whenever we all come to town (but not in front of Mamaw…. she’s very sensitive about people insulting her town! lol)

My uncle has a ranch there, and he recently built a lodge for hunters.  Luckily it’s big enough to house all of the men in the family, and all the women and children are split among family and friends’ houses.  Older women get beds, younger girls get blow up mattresses and pallets on the floor.  Jack and I are the exception… because of his medical equipment for his leg, we get our own room!  :o)  Trust me, that’s a big thing!  lol

So we usually drive down Thursday morning (it’s about a 6 hour drive), and get there around noon.  Another uncle owns a barbecue restaurant in Corpus Christi, so he caters the Thanksgiving meal – and really, with over 60 people, you need a caterer! lol We usually plan to eat around 1:00, but don’t actually get the food out until 2:00 or 3:00, but it’s all good because in the meantime everyone is visiting, catching up, etc.  The kids are usually running around getting dirty, much to the chagrin of their mothers (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Can’t you stay clean for just 10 minutes?!?!”)  lol

When the food is ready, we all sit at what has to be the longest Thanksgiving table for a single family.  It stretches the full length of the front porch of the lodge.  My 95 year old grandfather prays over the meal, and the family. And then we spend what sometimes seems like hours at the table.  Not eating the whole time, but just enjoying each other’s company and telling stories (sometimes more like tall tales!).

Afterwards you’ll find some people in front of the TV watching football games, some out on the porch visiting, some taking off to go hunting (usually with several little boys in tow!), and later in the evening, some sitting around a fire. There’s no place to go, no time to be there, no traffic, no rush, rush, rush… it’s awesome.

This is the only day of the year where I really feel like I have nothing else in this world to think about or worry about. I’m surrounded by the people I love most in this world, good food, and God’s creation. We all get along for the most part (hey, everyone has a tiff now and then), but it’s not like a lot of families I hear about who can’t stand each other… we all love getting together and spending the holiday… so much so, that most people bring along friends or other family members who were going to be alone for the holiday.  So our number easily climbs above 70!

I truly feel so very blessed to be a part of this awesome family. I was devastated when we missed it two years ago, after Jack’s accident.  On Friday night everyone went to my grandparents’ church for a “family music night.” Some played instruments, some sang, but the best moment (for me at least!) was when my dad called us at the hospital, over 500 miles away, and put a microphone up to his cell phone and I hear my entire family yell “We love you!” I bawled that night… both from feeling so loved, but also knowing what I was missing. We made it last year, and you bet we’re going to be there this year and every year from now on. I can’t help it… it’s my favorite holiday!

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