Day of Thanks

Turkey is in the oven and the house is filled with it's aroma and boy it smells good. I will be basting faithfully every 30 minutes until it becomes golden brown.

No matter what is going on in our lives, we all have so much to be thankful for. I try to not take the blessings that I have for granted and I take time on occasion to write them in my gratitude journal. I want to make an effort to be more consistent with that because it is a powerful lesson to reflect on the positive.

I am especially grateful today that I am feeling well enough to cook and participate in Thanksgiving. I have been struggling the past week with a flare up of a chronic medical condition and I didn't expect to be back on track so soon. I couldn't even think of Thanksgiving preparations as I was focusing on just taking care of myself. Thankfully the husband went out and did the shopping.

So I am very grateful to feel well enough to be cooking up a storm today, and that I will be able to spend the day with my family.

We are cooking the turkey and some of the side dishes at my house and transporting them up to the in-law's house. They are both elderly with health issues and they do better staying in their own environment so they can go off and nap if they want to and have everything they need on hand. My mother in law was disappointed that we all talked her out of cooking the turkey, but last time she tried to do so, it was a disaster. It becomes hard as they age and can't function as well as they did, but can't admit it. We tried to frame it nicely that we just wanted to help her as she has her hands full care taking her husband. She finally relented. But she is still cooking a couple of side dishes, because we know it is important for her to still feel needed.

I was reading a post over at The Therapist Mumbles yesterday and I think he has the best advice for families for the holiday. He said to "appreciate those you are with today, as everyone is doing the best they can." I know I will be thinking about that often today. Thanks, doc... and thank you to all you bloggers out there who share so much of your lives, advice, support and perspective. I have grown very, very fond of you all and I wish all of you who happen to stop by here a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Sam's new shoes

No, I did not pose her.

Change

I hosted a presentation at our school on Thursday night for parents and educators. I invited a panel of young people (ages 13-28) who are on the Autism spectrum to come and talk to the group about how their disability has affected their education and their lives. They were quite a candid group and collectively had been through a great deal of suffering at different points in their lives.

The presentation was very well attended and we ended up with standing room only. Some of the students who go to our school came with their parents to listen to the panel and found that they could relate so completely to their stories of being bullied (at their old school), misunderstood, and feeling isolated from peers. While the panel talked about the things that were difficult in their lives, they also expressed the up side of living with Autism.

1 out of 150 births are diagnosed with Autism. It is now considered an epidemic. We serve students from non-verbal and low functioning to high functioning Asperger's syndrome, so I spend a great deal of my time with kids on the spectrum. I enjoy them so much. The Asperger kids have a unique way of seeing the world and have a great deal to teach us.

Recently there was an episode of Grey's Anatomy that featured a heart surgeon with Asperger's syndrome. Autism awareness is everywhere now and I think it is such a good thing.

One of our local movie theaters was hosting a family movie day for families with children who have autism. They were going to keep the lights up some and turn down the sound to accommodate their sensory needs . The children were not going to be expected to sit still, they could get up and move around when ever they needed to. Parents of children with autism have been strong advocates and we are going to see society accommodate their needs like never before. In turn, I think all children and people with disabilities will benefit.

Autism is redefining our society and it has been a long time coming.

The history of aprons

Some people don't enjoy e-mail forwards, but most of the time I do. (Unless it is one that says it will bring bad luck if you don't forward). Today, my future daughter -in -law sent me a forward that brought a few tears to my eyes because it brought back some warm memories of my grandmothers and all the women in my family.

I was thinking today of the effort and thought that people put into writing these forwards and how they are passed around from person to person, maybe going all around the world.

Usually they are not signed and we have no idea who wrote them so no one can go back to the writer and thank them for putting a bit of sunshine or insight into our days.

So who ever started this forward, I thank you!

I don't think kids today know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used?less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden,it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ' old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Day off

Day off today so we headed down to IKEA for some shopping and breakfast. We didn't realize it but they were giving away FREE breakfasts today for everyone until 10:30 A.M. The lines were sure long, but they moved very quickly and there was plenty of room to sit and relax and have a nice breakfast.

Mostly did errands after that and now I am home and pretty much in for the rest of the day to cook up a storm in the kitchen. I plan to get a big pot of chicken soup going so I can freeze it to take to work and then make a nice home made meal for dinner.

A day sure flies when you are enjoying it!

Day tripping

Some photos of our day trip down to the CT shoreline today.

Movie day

Rainy day today, just a perfect day to go to the movies. All the movies that I have been wanting to see were not playing any longer so we decided to go see The Changeling. I didn't know much about it other than Clint Eastwood directed and Angelina Jolie was the star, and it was about a missing son.

My God, if I had known how heart wrenching it would be, I think I would not have gone. There were times I had to cover my face because I could not watch some of the scenes that were just too much to bear. My husband said that the movie was a work-out, and that describes it well. My heart was pounding through most of it from the suspense, heartbreak, anger, violations, and grief. Tough movie to watch, and even harder to bear when it is based on a true story.

But it was well acted, directed, and filmed. It was a very powerful movie, but absolutely draining.

Yes they did

On election night, my son called from college at 11:15 P.M. He was so excited about Obama's win and he said that the whole campus was going crazy. Good crazy, electrifying crazy. Everyone felt so connected and they were all singing. They were proud that their votes had made a difference.

I loved hearing the excitement in his voice. I hadn't thought about what it would be like on campus. I wished I had been there or in some type of crowd that night. I know that this is a memory he will look back upon for years to come. It is a story that he will tell his children and grandchildren.

It was a night, wasn't it?

I voted today

We got to the poll around 5:50 A.M. and there was just a short line waiting. When we left 20 minutes later, the line was huge and zig zagging around the small gym. It was interesting to watch people's faces when they walked in and saw how big the line was and to hear them exclaim that in all their years they have never seen so many people out voting.

I was dreaming about voting most of the night. In my dream I had to go through a carnival fairway and play some games on the way to the voting booth. There were no lines and people kept coming in getting ahead of me. I woke up before I had the chance to vote. Just a little anxiety coming out in my dream, don't ya think?

Anyway, we were glad we got there so early and were able to get in and out. We came home and the husband cooked up a nice breakfast for the two of us. A leisurely breakfast together on a work day was a nice perk.

I can go to work with my "I voted today" sticker and be grateful to the suffragette movement who made it possible (and not too many years ago and with great personal sacrifice) for me and all women to have the right to vote.

Election eve

I am so anxious about voting tomorrow. I have all my clothes laid out, my lunch made and I plan to get up very early and be at the polls by 6:00 A.M. That will give me 2 hours before I have to get to work. I am hoping that it will be enough time. I can't be late because I have a VIP appointment first thing.

What pressure!

And that's the truth...bltttttttttt

I was stalking my cat this morning, following her around with my camera trying to get some new shots of her. This is what she thought of it!