Giving Thanks in a Lot of Ways

My life is an instant - An hour which passes by;
My life is a moment Which I have no power to stay.
You know, O my God, I have only today.

-----Therese of Lisieux 1873-1897

Thanksgiving 2006 was filled with children and grandchildren arriving and lots of good food and fun. We cooked about all day (one crew at daughter Shirleys house and one crew at my house). It was a busy day so by the time we ate and visited awhile I could tell Elbert was very tired and withdrawing into his own little world. So, we prepared for bed.

I must have been pretty tired myself. At two a.m. the door alarm woke me up. I was so exhausted I had forgotten to deadbolt the front door. By the time I slipped my shoes on and got to the door Elbert was out of the house and a half block away going down the sidewalk just like he did that every night at 2 a.m. He was walking fast for he was on a mission. I called him as I hurried out the door but he didn't hear me so I yelled louder. I just hoped that I did not wake the neighbors up. I caught up with him and got him turned around and started back to the house. 'Where in the world were you going?', I asked. 'I was going to find you' he said. He is becoming increasingly attached to me, coming to find me if I am out of his sight for more than a couple of minutes. That presents a real problem for I can not sit in his sight all the time. There is work to do. It's disturbing to me that I will walk out of the room only to turn around and almost fall over him for he is right behind me. But, it's something I will have to deal with.

We had a great Thanksgiving, with our children and grandchildren surrounding us. We had a lot to be thankful for and as I crawled back into my bed after tucking Elbert into his, I was most thankful for door alarms and a son in law willing to install them for us.