Thanksgiving Day was filled with thankfulness and sadness and tears and joy. What an emotional roller-coaster ride it was for me. I surely wasn't prepared for that ride. It just happened as I moved through the events of the day.
My trip over to see Elbert was the thankfulness and joy part. We had a good lunch and as always he ate it all. That man does love to eat.
Daughter Marie came in just as Elbert and I were finishing up our meal. After lunch we went back to Elbert's room and Marie called her daughter who lives in Arizona. The phone was put up to Elbert's ear and he chatted a bit with his oldest grandchild for awhile.
Now, here comes the sadness and tears part. Elbert and I have spent many, many Thanksgivings at Shirley and John's house with their family, extended family and yesterday I walked up those back steps alone. Brittany and Chris were helping their Mom finish up the cooking. Ken and his wife, Bethany, had come over as well. So far, so good. I was doing alright and, then Shirley asked me to bless the food and right in the middle of it I totally lost it and ran for solitude, tears streaming down my cheeks. You see, Elbert always graced our Thanksgiving meal and the realization that he could not ever do that again was more than I could bear.
7 comments:
It is so sad, isn't it? We always drove miles and spent Thanksgiving with mom and dad, here in this house with them.
Now we are here and they aren't. Our Thanksgiving was quiet.
Fond memories of good family times.
I love the pictures. Elbert looks alert and happy, what a blessing. You look so pretty......
I can only imagine the flood of memories past and the emptiness that you must have felt. All the first holidays will be like you said.....sadness, tears and joy.
What a blessing to have a loving family....
And there is so much more sadness to come. With my mother for 13 years. God was teaching me so many things,why else would He have let her live so long like that.It is so hard to think about it still.
Patsy
My heart goes out to you. Glad you shared it though.
I am so sorry for the tears. Remember what a wonderful visit you had with him earlier. And how good he is doing. God bless. And I know how you feel. I am there too.
Oh, Mom--I might have known you'd have a bad end to this. We had such a lovely visit, but I should have called you to make sure you got through the day. I'm so sorry. I love you.
Hugs and prayers for you, as you face the changes in your life. I will be remembering you during the Christmas holidays, too.
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