“I'm giving thanks that we don't have to go through this for another year. Except we do, because those jerks went and put Christmas right in the middle, just to punish us.”
-Home for the Holidays (1995)
I am not one that typically blogs in negative tones. I will admit to stress and I will admit to things not being perfect. But rarely do I blog out of pure frustration and annoyance and just a plain bah humbug mentality. Today is the day.
You may take my quote above as rude, but I love that movie and watch it every year right before Thanksgiving as a rule. It is about family and the dread of going to see family that you only see at the Holidays (which has become my life story- minus the dread, I am always happy and excited to go home). The heroine, Holly Hunter goes back to her family’s house for Thanksgiving and is immediately sucked into the drama and insanity that her family that still lives there deals with on a daily basis. It gets bad and then it gets worse as the siblings and family members assemble for the holidays.
I typically watch it because it is funny and is part of my holiday tradition. This year was no different and as I watched it on the plane on Thanksgiving morning I sighed in relief that my holiday would be so radically different than my favorite characters’.
And actually my Thanksgiving Day was nothing but fun and happiness. I was able to spend time with my family in Grove and see some family members whom I had not seen in some time, including my late grandfathers’ brother who resembles him so much. I laughed with cousins and Kyle has a good time playing cards and football. It was a great great day.
Friday we had a nice Thanksgiving with my Father’s family.
Saturday we had a lovely reception for the wedding for family and friends who were unable to attend. One of my bridesmaids came and surprised me with a video of the wedding which we all watched and that was very enjoyable.
Sunday we had lunch with Kyle’s college roommate Ricky who was also in the wedding and then said goodbye to family and escaped to the airport to depart back to sunny Florida.
Because I love my family and because I have a public blog and because I do not encourage rumors or drama that only cause hurt for others I will not post what it is that put such a veil of torture on my Holiday. All I will say is that the quote above is how I feel at this moment. I have never been happier to see my plane leave the ground in Oklahoma and I have never been happier to wake up next to my husband and know that our lives our here and what we have here are jobs we are truly blessed with, a church that we love, friends we adore and a new life together that does not include drama, lies, anger, hatred, or pain over the past. Over a past I did not choose but was dealt.
“We don't have to like each other. We're family.”
-Home for the Holidays (1995)
This post Thanksgiving quote is what is on my heart today. Do not think me negative for the lines I wrote above. Please understand that they are written from a very hurt heart and not from any one person but from a lifetime of drama and issues on all sides that continually go on. The healthiest decision I can make for myself and my husband is to live our lives here and pray for a peace for our loved ones who are suffering in different ways. This is the quote I will dwell on today:
“Thanksgiving is a time of quiet reflection upon the past and an annual reminder that God has, again, been ever so faithful. The solid and simple things of life are brought into clear focus.”
-Charles R. Swindoll
L. Hall
