Feeling especially grateful this morning. I got up early and baked what I need to take to Mom and Dad's. For once it looks like all of my siblings will be present and we will be able to hopefully have a nice meal.
This year, mom and dad won't be here for Christmas. They will be spending it across the country, which reminds me that all too soon they will be true snowbirds and it will be dependent upon us to go to them. Which also means that holidays in my childhood home are limited.
I remember when each of my parents had to say good bye to their respective childhood homes. For dad, we did a final walk through and I was a small child--early elementary school. He showed us the "hiding spots" in the floor boards and I could see him remembering his childhood. At the time, I didn't understand the melancholy that hung in that attic bedroom that day, however, I now know that time will come soon for my siblings and I.
For mom, I was in college and her dad was selling the house because he was getting remarried. To say it was chaotic would be putting it nicely and be an understatement of the world. There were so many memories in that house, that I even as a teenager knew I would miss. I learned to read on my grandpa's lap in front of the fire place. I learned to love science in the basement lab, and I learned how to be prepared for emergencies as my grandmother was diabetic.
I wonder what Munchkin will remember of the house---will it be living there after Robert died? That his grandparents provided a safe landing for us in the biggest turmoil of our life? Will it be the fact that his Nana has taught him to cook in her big kitchen? Will it be reading with them in the den? Watching football and baseball with Papa?
At any rate, whatever his memories of my childhood house hold, I hope that they are happy ones, and I am grateful that he has so many experiences with my family.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
