Giving Thanks, Nesting, and Getting in the Holiday Spirit
Well, it’s all coming to a hilt. As though this time of year isn’t busy (stressful?) enough, with Thanksgiving (times two) and Christmas, church choir cantata rehearsals, the shopping, the parties, and my birthday, we are throwing the coming of a new baby into the mix. And, since Lily came three weeks before her due date, we feel like we need to be prepared on the early side. My goal is to be READY for the baby AND Christmas all by the time I hit 35 weeks. That gives me about a week and a half. And we are doing pretty well…
Bill and I both have been nesting like mad, which includes both baby prep and Christmas. So, as of this moment, the tree is decorated, the house is decorated (a bit scaled back this year), the presents (nearly every last one) are purchased and wrapped under the tree (wrapping courtesy of Bill — every single one), and the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. The nursery is painted, the crib bedding in place, baby clothes are washed and put away, cloth diapers are prepped, and my first baby quilt is NEARLY finished. Today I made progress on the crib mobile that I am making, and I’m getting ready to settle in for some more crocheting (which my Grandma Graves taught me several weeks ago) on a baby blanket, which is slowly coming along. (I hope to have pictures of all the craftiness and completed nursery soon…)
So, I have ALL of those things to be thankful for! We celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, with my sister’s family, my Grandma Barker, and my aunt and her husband. Thanksgiving dinners in my family are pretty much exactly the same in menu, and I always look forward to that particular combination of flavors that I experience only once a year. This year, as I thought might be the case, I was pretty darn uncomfortable, and spent a good deal of the post-dinner time reclined with a heating pad on my back. But I still enjoyed the precious time with my family. And, without hesitation, I can say that what I am most thankful for this year is the health of my family. Last Thanksgiving was overshadowed by my mom’s cancer recurrence and pending surgery. And the few months following would bring my sister’s completely baffling heart attack and my dad’s diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis. While none of these is ever completely gone from our minds, we are in a much better place now. I’m thankful to celebrate another holiday season with my Grandmas, now 91 and nearly 88. Watching my daughter grow to know them as I always have brings me such joy. And I think it goes without saying that the coming of a new son to our family, with all signs pointing to a perfectly healthy boy, has my heart overflowing with gratitude.
A couple of evenings ago, Bill, Lily, Angus, and I (with boy), were all wallowing on Lily’s bedroom floor before her bedtime. (”Wallowing” is the term we give to lying around, Lily climbing all over us, and Angus snorfling about and burrowing into us). I don’t think it was just pregnancy hormones that made me nearly tear up as I witnessed the scene: Our family of four, and Angus too, purely enjoying being together. So, even though I’ve been distracted and crazed trying to get ready for this time of year, and even though the thermometer hit about 65 degrees today, I think I’m starting to get into the holiday spirit once again.