Giving Thanks or Thanksgiving?

Turkey, and Stuffing and Pie, Oh my!

I’m coming clean, I am a total holiday nut.  I’ve been counting down to this week for more reasons than one.

Reason ONE

We’re that much closer to the marathon we’ve been training for all year,

Black Friday!

Reason TWO

I am officially allowed to take out and unpack my Christmas decorations.  YAY!

And…

Reason THREE

uhhhhh…yum!  The food!

Thanksgiving if full of so many comforting self indulging treats from Sweet Potato casserole topped with those tiny little marshmallows, to stuffing dripping with tasty gravy, to savory slices of pumpkin pie loaded with whipped cream.

Ugh I can feel the tryptophan induced coma coming over my body as I type this, but before we get to the food, we should say grace.  What?  There’s no one named Grace in your family either?  Our family really isn’t into saying “grace” however, we have started a daily tradition as of late called “Highs, Lows and Thanks.” 

This tradition has proven to provoke all sorts of conversations from more serious thoughts such as health issues, politics and religion to ideas as simple as being grateful that we’re having burgers for dinner vs. Liver.  Yuck! 

Either way, it’s gotten us all to give thanks daily which frankly….feels…well, it feels good! 

About a year or so ago while reflecting on my so called life, I began to feel very grateful.  Things were going really well as a bright eyed newlywed.  To put it mildly I felt blessed.  As I sat wasting away on the couch watching the boob tube I became overwhelmed with the feeling that I should somehow be giving back -But how? 

Ask and you shall receive. 

Out of the blue, an opportunity to take part in a mentorship program within our community appeared-with that, I joined up. 

Filled with wonder and excitement I set out to change the world.   I was paired with a 17 year old high school Junior.  Totally overconfident, I was sure that I would save her soul and change her life forever. Funny enough, working with this young girl throughout the past year and a half, has taught me more than I’d thought possible.  Why had I come into this program with the pre-conceived notion that she’d need changing at all? 

The program is really pretty low key.  We have about 20 face to face meetings per year combined with various weekly email correspondences.  We are also asked to participate in weekly “assignments”.  These assignments are more like little popcorn kernels of ideas designed to provoke Mentors/Mentees to get started on a topic. 

Most recently our topic was called “Giving Thanks”.  Nothing confusing, basically we were asked to use 3 examples of people or things that we were particularly thankful for this year.  Sometimes simplicity can be a beautiful thing.  These little high school topics can really get your mind going.  Before I knew it, I was in tears typing out my assignment.  Seriously, this program is becoming more and more like a personal therapy session for me!  Who knew? 

Though sharing my Giving Thanks assignment with you might seem appropriate given the upcoming holiday, it’s a bit too personal, even for cyberspace.  I would however like to share a previous one. 

This particular test of emotion was entitled “I Am”.  We were given a basic template to follow. 

No judging please J 

 “I am”

I am stronger than I knew but would rather not know.

I wonder what will come next.

I hear the children's innocent laughter again, and it feels good. 

I see that my husband is distracted. 

I want to hold him and make his sadness go away. 

I pretend daily that we are all better. 

I feel like there is no end in sight.

I touch his face at night to show him my love. 

I worry that we will never get back that stupid in love feeling. 

I cry because I’m overwhelmed. 

I am hopeful because hope is everything. 

I understand that life has a way of planning itself. 

I say that praying matters but fear that it might not. 

I dream about the future. 

I try to stay positive.

I hope that something great is right around the corner. 

I am stronger than I knew but would rather not know.

As I stumbled through this poem I was again brought to tears.  (mind you I’m not even PMSing!)  Sometimes it’s hard to face the facts.  It’s not always sunshine and rainbows.  At the end of the day, though things might not be perfect right now, I realize that I am still blessed, maybe even more so now that this little girl is in my life. 

Who are you? 

If you’re feelin’ it, give the “I am” assignment a go! If you want to share, feel free to post it below, or send it my way  at keeperswife.blogpot@gmail.com

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

~The Keeper’s Wife



One Swift Kick in The...

My apologies, I have not abandoned my herd. (and by “herd” I’m referring to the 27 or so of you folks that are gently nudged by me to continue visiting my tiny little spot in cyberspace.)  -Thank You!

Things have been utterly crazy at work as of late, though now that election season has come and gone, my fingers are crossed that I’ll be back to business as usual. 

“I didn’t know that you were on the campaign trail….I thought that you worked for a publicly traded traveling circus you say?”  All I can say is….one never knows where their responsibilities will take them in this company.  It’s never boring.  Nuff said. 

With that…I’ll get back to my fans.  *Clears throat*….I mean friends and family.

For me there’s nothing better than smell of apples and cinnamon.  YUM…just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  It’s overwhelmingly homey, I mean let’s face it, Realtors have even been known to throw an apple pie in the oven to help seal the deal when selling a house.

Thanks to my good buddy Mich over at Sweet Cadence I’ve become obsessed with Febreeze NOTICE-ables…in a good way, I swear! This has been a good sidetrack throughout the long Summer months as I've patiently awaited for my fave Season to arrive. 

Yearning for the "real thing" as October came and went, I felt the urge to partake in a few festive Fall activities.  Nothing major, it doesn’t take much to please me -in fact, that's one of the main reasons that the Keeper and I are such a good fit.  We can have fun doing just about anything.  Last year we drove for 12 hours from New England to Indianapolis cuttin’ up and laughing all the way -ahhh Newlyweds. 

That said, while out and about around town on a Saturday afternoon I suggested that we hit one of our local farmers markets to pick up some of my Fall faves, fresh pressed apple cider and cider donuts! –YUM! 

The Keeper begrudgingly agreed.  While as a couple we have a blast, he apparently hates “People”.  What the?! You hate “people”?  Well, I just don’t like being around the crowds, can’t you do this yourself?"  I quickly shot him a pouty glance and before he knew it, he was defeated. 

We circled the large parking lot a few times dodging Soccer Moms in SUV’s left and right finally stumbling upon a spot.  The crisp cool air hit our faces as we made our way through the mounds of Pumpkins. 

“Hey, why don’t we pick our a pumpkin or 2, you like carving right?”  said the Keeper.  Could he actually be getting into this I thought?  Yay! After much deliberation, I decided to keep it to one, with the insane work schedule I was looking at for the month I wasn’t sure I’d have time to carve one let alone two. 



My carved pumpkin- a few weeks later. 
Spooky right?

 As we made our way to the fresh apple cider/cider donuts the Keeper spotted the soft serve Ice-Cream stand. 
Pumpkin ice-cream?!  This easily made his day, I had him.  We made our few purchases, braved the crowd and made our way back to the car.  Once comfy and situated I turned to the Keeper and said, “Ya think we could make a quick stop to the HomeGoods Store on the way home?” 

Without hesitation he responded. “Don’t push your luck!” 

Defeated, I sat quietly as we drove home and let my mind wander. 

Nothing good can come of this. 

It’s so odd to me that the Keeper doesn’t like to shop.  My poor Father worked in retail for over 40 years, yet come any given Saturday or Sunday afternoon, he can be found on a random “man bench” in whatever store my Mother has dragged him to . 

Not the Keeper, he put his foot down from day one “it’s not happening.”  Maybe he anticipates what kind of ridiculousness he’d be getting himself into by partaking on these illustrious excursions with me. 

A few years ago before the Keeper was in the picture, I took a quick trip to the HomeGoods store with my parents.  Ahhh HomeGoods how I love thee, you’ve taken me on many a journey.  There's something for everyone!   

Where else can you find a giant giraffe statue and a mirrored credenza for under $1,000 bucks? What the?! 

Together, we decorated my very first apartment, found countless holiday decorations and gifts all while staying in budget!  I could easily spend hours in this store. 

Apparently my Mother could spend even more. 

As we entered the store, we immediately split up, me to the right, Mom to the left while Dad made the walk of shame over to the man bench. 

On this particular day, my Mother must have been on some sort of mission.  She took her time as she made her way from department to department.  Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock….she was taking forever! 

So much so, before I knew it, I found myself sitting right beside my Dad. 

As I sat alongside Poppi on the shameful bench I began to get more and more irritated. 

“God what could be taking her so long?”  Not only had she out-shopped me to the point of sheer boredom, my stomach was beginning to eat itself from hunger.    

I looked at my Dad and said, “I’m starving, I’m going to find her…”  I looked to my left where I saw a tiny Italian woman with helmet head bent over a pile of towels. What the heck is she doing?  Towels, really?!  With all of the gems to find in this store, you’re wasting our time on towels? 

I quickly ran over.  Without hesitation, I gave her a swift kick in the tush (literally) while not so softly spouting off “MA, come on let’s go…You’re killing us, we’re starving!” As she turned around, I quickly began to feel the pit in my stomach erupt.   Oh my God, it wasn’t her! 
I had kicked a total stranger in the hiney!
Please let this woman understand English!  Visions of police officers being called danced through my head or even worse, I'd be banned from HomeGoods for life!

In a split second I found myself apologizing to my Mothers look alike.  Now I've been a party to some embarrassing situations but this one took the cake.   

Mind you this was all taking place with my Father sitting front and center on the shameful man bench.  Who was the shamed one now I ask you?!  

 

As time passed, what seemed more like 20 or 30 minutes really only took about a minute and a half, I was mortified to say the least.  Thankfully my mama’s doppelganger was sweet as a cherry pie, responding to my attack with a big hug, she explained that she herself was the Ma of a smart alec daughter just like me.  

Humbled, I looked back at my Poppi's smiling face and made my way back to the bench where I buttoned my lip and sat in silence while I waited. 

Maybe the Keeper’s right, it’s probably best if I keep the shopping to a solo activity.  At least that way there won't be any witnesses on hand. 

More to come soon. 

~The Keepers Wife