happy thanksgiving

i managed to pull a chair up to two thanksgiving meals on thursday; lunch with my mom's side and dinner with my dad's side. mom and dad are in texas, where my sis and bro-in-law joined them for the week to eat all of my favorite food. since my sister is already eating for two, i told her to go ahead and eat for three since i wasn't going to be there.

highlights from lunch included an aunt's retelling of the time she discovered a stray hair growing from her chin that "must have been four feet long." and a cousin whose leg has been amputated due to a medical condition explaining that when a kid asks, "what happened to your leg?" he says with a straight face, "monster under the bed." we wondered aloud how we ever get people to marry into this family. craig, who married in about two years ago, swore we didn't act like this during the engagement period.

i think thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. i'm sure as a kid, i liked christmas more, but not these days. thanksgiving seems to have more simplicity, at least in comparison to the gift-shopping and gift-giving hysteria that can surround christmas. and more and more, i'm thankful for simplicity.

i could list a lot - so much, even - that i am thankful for. but i won't do it here. just know that my faithful four readers are on that list :)