Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A True Moment of Thanks



So, the holidays are upon us once again and I am seeing plenty of posts about the many things we are all thankful for. For me, it is the obvious choices I think we all share for Thanksgiving....the love of family and close friends, the satisfaction we feel after a wonderful meal and the comfort of knowing we live in a country where we can express the things we are thankful for in the safety of our own homes.
Thanksgiving takes me back to a moment I will always treasure. No, not the first time I saw the Macy's Day Parade on TV (although it was spectacular) or the year my parents forgot to turn the oven on and we realized hours later that there was no smell of turkey lingering from the kitchen (True Story!) My special Thanksgiving memory occurred four years ago when we were headed to Washington D.C. to meet family for the Thanksgiving holiday.
It was the typical last minute rush of trying to pack and keep our 18 month old son out of the luggage but I was too distracted to continue. My thoughts kept drifting all the way to the back of my head and pulling out the same question I had planned on answering when I returned from our trip. However, I admit, I am infamous for picking inopportune times to deal with things (like getting ready to walk out the door to catch a plane), but, there are some questions that just seem to stop you dead in your tracks no matter what is going on, and, this was one of them!....... Am I pregnant??
I remember thinking the month before when I booked the trip that I was not looking forward to having my "period" when I was on vacation. Yes, for the men who may end up reading this, I did say "period" and women do think about it when they make plans to do something or go somewhere. Even though, I was not that "late" and had to get to D.C., it would be well worth it to take a test and put my mind at ease so I wouldn't be distracted for the rest of my trip. Yep, bags packed, toddler running wild, impatient husband staring at me, and I was peeing on the stick! I was expecting a torturous minute of waiting but it immediately turned positive (maybe it knew I didn't have a lot of time to wait?? If so, I appreciated it for being so courteous) and I, or we, were pregnant once again!
I had mentioned before the rush of emotions that go through you when you are face to face with a positive pregnancy test, and, this time was no different, except, I had been through it once before. Oh, the swollen feet, throwing up, carrying around all that extra baggage, but, wasn't it well worth it for that cute and precious little one you receive in the end?
So, that Thanksgiving I had an exciting announcement to make to our family that I was truly thankful for. I was grateful to be surrounded by my husband, our son, and our relatives in our nation's capital and blessed to know that I had another addition to our family growing inside of me. That feeling of appreciation and completeness and the gift to express it is what Thanksgiving means to me and that year will always be my reminder of a true moment of thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Image Credit: Custom Metal Art entitled "Giving Thanks" from http://www.wizardsofmetal.com/Western_Main.html



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