Live Loved

Today is Thanksgiving. This is the second year that I am spending the day without my husband. Last year, I decided that I needed to take my kids away because the thought of having to celebrate without him was far too painful. It was a disaster. My younger son forgot to take off of work an my eldest missed his flight home from LA. The second plan was for the 2 of them to drive down to Skamania Lodge to meet us after Dane got off of work. The weather had other plans for our family getaway. They never made it.

I left several hours later than intended, partially due to the fact that my daughter had not packed before leaving for a short day of school and partially from me, trying to figure out plan number 2. It took Delia and I about 6 hours to get to the lodge. Normally, this would have taken about 3 hours. During our drive, a storm surprised us and the roads were treacherous. As I arrived, Devyn's best friend's mom called. Nicky offered to have Devyn and Dane for the night due to the inclement weather. Delia and I spent the night but drove home the next morning so that we could see the boys. Unfortunately for us, it was another 5 hour drive but... we made it home!

This year I decided to host, as I always have, aside from last year's debacle. It is still another hard year, but I am reminding myself of all of the positive aspects of our lives. I am so grateful to have all three of my children home to celebrate the day of thanksgiving. I am so happy to host my friends and celebrate what we are grateful for. I am loved by my 3 beautiful children, my amazing family, my beautiful friends and of course God. I saw a great quote earlier from Lysa Terquest, "Live Loved." I have been reminding myself of this numerous times today. I still miss having my whole family together, not sure if that will ever change. But reminding myself to live loved, is such a positive pick me up, especially when the melancholy surprises me.

I truly am grateful for all that this life has given me. Yes, I still mourn the loss of my husband in our lives and the life we built together. Yes, my children do as well. We are plowing through though and are starting a new chapter. Who knows what next year will look like. I am just so happy that I have all 3 kids together under one roof for todays festivities.

Happy Thanksgiving!

oops, forgot to publish this Thursday