thanksgiving weekend…kinda late

Ok, so thanksgiving was last Thursday. Sue me.

I left for the break on Wednesday night around 7:30 from the dorm. How very odd it was to be the last person to leave. All the doors were taped shut, and the lights that are ALWAYS on were off. It felt like a total ghost town. I scared the bejesus out of my RA. Katie and I discussed throwing things down the stairwell, particularly bowling balls. Then my granddad came and picked me up, and we drove the 10 minutes it takes to go down port republic road and arrive at the farm. mmmm… grandparent-y.

I had a lovely break which I spent with my immediate family as well as my grandparents, my aunt Rosie and uncle Jack, and my cousin ginger. Thanksgiving with the relatives was a new and enjoyable experience, though my sister (aged 21), ginger (24 I think), and myself were all made to sit at the dreaded “kids table.” Hahaha. I haven’t done that since I was in grade school. Oh well… I was so happy to see my parents and my brother especially. I hadn’t seen him since august. On Thanksgiving Day, I talked to Chelsea quite briefly, but it was still happy. I also talked to Katie for an hour or so, until my dad yelled at me and told me to “get out here and spend some time with your relatives!” So I did. Besides that, I also talked to Kelly for a really long time that night. It made me so very happy when her mom answered the phone and asked who was calling, and upon hearing my name, exclaimed “If it were anyone else I would say she was busy! How are you?” Oh Cindy. And then I knitted. A lot. I have now finished six scarves and have five more in progress. Oopa.

My sister and I also made lovely pumpkin pies (3) and lovely pumpkin bread to take back to school with us and share with our friends. When I told Ginger about how I baked the Becky a cake for her birthday the Monday before the break, she said she thinks I’m trying to buy my friends with delicious baked goods. (Damn it! Shes caught on!) Mmmmm… I love the food of thanksgiving. Somehow, it just wasnt the same though. It could have been the fact that we realized we forgot the corn, or that we only made *one* dish of green bean casserole (as opposed to two), or that we didnt actually have a full turkey, and so we had to cook the stuffing… not…stuffed. The lack of turkey also meant no essence of turkey. *disappointed* But that all didnt really matter to me. It was actually a much needed break which included quality family time. I think it was just odd to be not on the west coast for thanksgiving. A first for me.

That weekend, I was reminded again of how much I have to be thankful for. I try to always be conscious of that, but it’s hard to do sometimes, especially when you become so focused on what you don’t have, or who you can’t be with. But the truth is, even if I am far away from the people I love, it doesn’t mean I will always be far away. I get to see them again. And again. That in itself is something to be thankful for. I have never had to say goodbye to someone knowing full well that I would never ever see them again. I once said that the worst feeling in the world is missing someone. I still think that may be true. But I also think that I have never really had to miss someone. I have never had to feel that kind of finality.

That being said, I still am human, and I still miss home. Home is so close, I can taste it. 10 days.