Thanksgiving
Every blog has to have a Thanksgiving post. It’s the law.
Ever since we finished the kitchen ceiling (and many other renovations), we’ve been honored to host the Niles Family Thanksgiving Extravaganza at our house (that’s Mark’s family, for those of you playing along at home).
Over those years, I have honed a very carefully choreographed project plan for the morning (shocking, I know….). The turkey goes in at about 8:30 AM, and we hit the table with all food hot at 12:30.
(if anyone wants a copy of the plan, I’d be happy to share it. it’s magical. truly.)
Shaking things up just a few days before last Thanksgiving, Mark decided that the Galloping Gobbler, a 4-mile run in 36-degree rain, would be an awesome thing to do as a family. He chose to share this plan as I was climbing the steps of an airplane near the end of a miserably stressful business trip. I had a few choice words in response, of which I am not proud. I still stand by the general sentiment: “ahh, no.”
I held to the cooking plan. He and the girls ran the race. When they returned, regaling the family with stories of excitement and joy, I experienced a moment of weakness and general holiday spirit and agreed to push my carefully-honed Thanksgiving dinner plan back a couple hours and run it with them in 2011.
Fast-forward 11.9 months. I had yet to get on the treadmill to begin training.
Now, those of you who run for a living might scoff, but I’ve never been athletic. I have asthma attacks when I have to sprint the mile-long terminal at DTW to catch a plane.
Trying to run four miles is likely to kill me. But I agreed to do it for my family. Because I’m thankful for them.
What will you wear to my funeral? Leave a comment!
Side note: Due to illness and overall resistance from the Maternal Party of the First Part (me), the Paternal Party of the Second Part (Mark) has graciously agreed to sponsor a compromise: The First Annual Unofficial Niles Holiday Hotfoot–two laps around the 2-mile YMCA trail near our house. I’m still likely to die, but at least I’ll be closer to home.
But seriously…….I’m super thankful:
- for my amazing family, who almost let me off the hook
- for the privilege of crafting words that can tell stories that bring laughter, evoke tears, stimulate thought.
- for the honor this year of serving kids in Aguascalientes, Mexico and helping expand that children’s home.
- For the security of a job that I admit I kinda sometimes love.
- For the love and grace of Jesus who forgives the unforgivable stuff I do every day.
What are you thankful for? Leave a comment for real…..
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.
always thankful for the goodness of the day… how it brings people together to share in gratitude that should last throughout the year!
and i’m very thankful for a long list of things that i could keep year after year (if i did keep lists) /
one thought though on something that has warmed my already mushy soft heart… the joy of spending the holiday with my precious grandchildren – yep, two of these tiny creatures that keep my youth vibrantly alive.
Hope you have the best blessed day Christine!!
Chris, you nailed it….Every day should be Thanksgiving. Hope your day with your grandchildren is absolutely amazing, as i’m sure it will be. Blessings to you and your whole family!
All, In the spirit of transparency and accountability, I must confess that the Holiday Hotfoot fell prey to my lingering chest cold. Since I kept the family up most of the night with my coughing, we delayed the start of the “race,” and shortened it to once around the track and then a walk to Starbucks…more a Stuffing Stroll. But we still got off the couch. And that’s what counts, right?
I’m thankful for the new little boy that God has blessed Sara and I with, for a wife who is willing to help me determine which end of his clothes is supposed to go over his head, and a God that is patient and willing to wait on me when i think my way is some how better than his.
Bill…..Warren is precious no matter what direction his clothes are on!!!! God has blessed you guys with him, and blessed us with all three of you! Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!