Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's:

Wednesday evening I made a not so smart trip to Wal-Mart.  I hadn't had time to pick up groceries for dishes to take to Mom's and also the whole Thanksgiving feast for Elrod Thanksgiving on Sunday.  The store wasn't quite as crowded as I thought it would be, but the food aisles were full of people trying to find what they needed.  I made several trips from the front to the back for items I missed.  I could have just skipped the morning treadmill routine.  (Doesn't seem to help anyway-I keep gaining more weight!!  But it keeps my heart healthier).

Thanksgiving:
Dwayne made his customary sweet potatoes to take to Mom's.  I made a couple dishes and away we went.  I wanted to get there early enough to help with everything.  Fortunately, (for me anyway) Kate and Judy had gotten there even earlier and had most everything done.  Mom makes the best stuffing.  Kate helped her get it ready.  Mom has to feel she is contributing to the dinner that she has always loved doing in the past.  I feel bad for her as some of her dependence is slipping away.  Dad takes excellent care of Mom, but he loves to brag on himself for what he does.  He does go way and beyond what I ever thought he was capable of doing.  Then Mom complains about the way he does something, hurts his feelings and they start arguing.  I hate that, but I understand where Mom is coming from.  For years she has done everything in the house and there was no praise, it was just something mom's did.  Now as we all make over Dad doing these things, in Mom's mind, it diminishes her doing the same things throughout her lifetime.  It makes her feel even more dependent on others and I think her lashing out is just due to her frustration.  It's a fine line in making Mom feel better-as she has been sick so much this year and to lose her oldest child to making Dad feel special for all he does.  People ask what we're going to do since Mom keeps getting worse.  Ride it out and   Mom and Dad are perfectly able to make decisions for themselves we're just riding it out and try to help out as much as possible.  A rough time, but we're making it.
Dwayne is always the turkey carver and this year he also washed the dishes while we all visited.   Dwayne didn't use to help as I was a stay at  home Mom and I thought I was suppose to do everything-and I did.  Since I've been sick, Dwayne has slowly started helping out to where now he helps tremendously!!  I appreciate his help so much but sometimes I feel a little guilty as I used to do it all.  Life takes a lot of twists and turns.
As for Thanksgiving, we had a lot to be thankful for.  It was a beautiful day.  The kids ran and played outside.  We were all there (minus Wayne, our first holiday without him) and all the grandkids but two were there.  Chad brought Desmon.  As soon as he came in the house, he went straight to Mom to give her a hug and then on to Dad.  We feel Desmon is a part of the family and I know he feels it, too.  Desmon came home with me and Dwayne for the afternoon.  While watching TV, he laid his head on my shoulder.  He's had a lot to deal with in his young life and I'm glad we're able to give him a sense of family and traditions.  He's a special little boy.
Cash wasn't in the best of mood.  Poor little guy had an ear infection which we later learned was a bursted eardrum.  I've had that happen before and it hurts like heck.  He still had smiles for everyone.

I am so grateful to have family and especially my parents to share a wonderful day of Thanksgiving.
We lost our dear Wayne this year but we've also had joys.  My great niece, Kara, had a little girl in October, Kennedy Reece.  Our family shares our sorrows and our triumphs.  This has been a trying year, yet we're so grateful for what we do have.