This week's Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap topic is:
The Thursday upcoming is Thanksgiving in the U.S., so let's all - American and not alike! - just share a post with what it is we're thankful for. A wonderful thing to do any time of year, I thought it'd be a nice thing to share for this week with the group! Thanksgiving had always been my most favorite of the holidays... up until we lost my Nana, whom I was extremely close to, on November 23, 2003. Suddenly Thanksgiving got a huge black cloud over it....
If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that during the summer my family went through some stressful times with my Mom's sudden hospitalization, which turned in to a Stage IIB Colon Cancer diagnosis. She underwent surgery and was told all of the lymph nodes were clean, however they put her on a radiation and chemo pill schedule to be certain. She finished up her radiation treatments a couple weeks ago, however will continue on the chemo pill for another 4 months and recently found out she will not be able to return to her job (she had planned for retiring next fall at the age of 62).
I don't think the sadness of losing Nana will ever become "unattached" to Thanksgiving, however I think the black cloud has lifted. I realize that the holiday still means getting together with family & friends and being thankful for everything you have. I realize that its okay to be happy during that time again and I have fond memories of many Thanksgiving dinners at Nana's house with the family.
I'm most thankful for good health, family and good friends, esp those good friends who've been there during Mom's cancer. I'm also thankful for having started this blog and being able to vent through it... and for meeting so many new and amazing friends through it in the past year!
4 comments:
It takes a strong woman to count her blessings in the face of adversity. Good for you! I'm sorry your mom won't be able to return to work as planned, and I'm also sorry I've been so wrapped up in my own dramas that I don't ask how she's doing...
What a beautiful post, Nichole.
Hi Nichole. Thanks for stopping by to see my Juliet. Sometimes it's hard to be thankful for the little things when there are so many Big things going on around us, but there is always something to be thankful for. I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving :)
Nichole, I really liked this post. It's wonderful to that you are taking the good with the bad and taking it in stride. I hope that your mom's recovery progresses well and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I lost both of my grandfathers before Thanksgiving (different years), and I feel that same sense of loss that you do. However, it's good to know that those people who we lost were so deeply loved that their absence is still missed.
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