Thanksgiving 07/08

There is a huge difference between last Thanksgiving and this Thanksgiving. I barely remember last Thanksgiving. It was a day where my husband drove me to my family's house. We went out to eat at Cracker Barrel and I had to take a nap while I was there just to make it through part of the day. I slept all the way to their house and all the way back. I was miserable. I didn't even want to think about Christmas shopping, trees, or any other holiday stuff because I was so sick that I didn't want to think that a year had been past and the only reason we knew that it was holidays in our home was the stuff that was up that I was too lazy (read too sick) to put away from 06.

This year we got up fairly early and I spent most of the day at my family's house. I did not even take a cat nap in the car. :D This morning we got up and Rob pulled down the tree. Well I didn't remember because Christmas 06 I was so sick and did not even know what I had yet, but apparently Rob had bought us a new Christmas Tree. We got it up. Rob helped put the lights on and the red/green garland on and left me to my own devices.

I have just spent the last hour looking at ornaments from years past. I love doing this. We have to get a new Christmas topper. I don't think the star we usually use will work on this tree. I think I appreciate the ornaments and tree more this year than ever in years past because I couldn't do this last year.

You see when I was little, we spent every Christmas with my Grandparents. I can't imagine a Christmas without them. Every Christmas, my Granny would decorate her tree with what had to have been at least 2,000 lights and tons of ornaments. I don't think there was a bare branch on that tree. Every year I would ooo and aaa over her tree. There was one that I just loved, a ballerina. I would take her off and carefully spin her around in my hands. It was my sign that Christmas was around the corner when I was able to touch this ballerina. Today at the age of 32, I still pull that ballerina out and twirl her in my hands. I can feel the love of my Granny in that ornament knowing that every year for what must have been 20 years she took special care to make sure that special ornament was on her tree for me.

Now there are other ornaments that hold special memories for me, but not a single one holds a candle to that ballerina.