IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

The Sage and I fell into bed last night, happy but exhausted, to the sound of the kiddos shrieking with laughter as they played "Balderdash" -- the perfect ending to a blessed day.

It was a typical Thanksgiving at our house. I cooked (my choice -- I dearly love holiday cooking) while Dad and our youngest son went to the Cowboys-Broncos game (we lost). Oldest daughter and I chatted while she cleaned up (her contribution since she doesn't cook) and cousin Joe took a nap on the family room couch, then she picked up oldest son from the airport. Middle daughter and her boyfriend arrived bearing mashed potatoes, sweet corn pudding, pecan pie and olive dip. Adopted daughter came in with her hubby and three-year-old son. (Youngest daughter called from Austin to wish us a happy Thanksgiving -- she and her husband and three-year-old son spent the day with T's parents there.) We exchanged calls with family and friends throughout the day, sending messages of love and wishing each other a happy Thanksgiving Day. Dad carved the turkey and ham while the boys moved the breakfast room table into the dining room to join with the dining table so we could all eat together. The girls set the places, and everyone fixed their plates from the buffet. We made a circle and gave thanks to God for the blessings of the year -- Dad's surviving his heart attack, my recovery from a complicated broken leg and the ensuing surgery, our family, the love we share, all the tender mercies God has shown us.

We all sat down to eat a Southern feast of roast turkey with giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, ham with redeye gravy, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, fruit salad, asparagus surprise, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, sausage balls, mashed potatoes, sweet corn pudding, yeast rolls, and dutch apple, cherry, pumpkin and pecan pies. Politics was banished from the dinner conversation. Remembering and laughing at family stories was the order of the day.

After dinner we played Trivial Pursuit and Balderdash (which Dad and I finally bailed on) and generally had a wonderful time just laughing and being together. It was a smaller crowd than usual, with S----- and T----- not there and M------ without a boyfriend this year, and no in-laws or friends attending. Up early just now and sneaking into the kitchen for a Popsicle, I felt a sense of contentment that the house is full of sleeping children again (they'll always be children to us). Today we're going to shop for our Salvation Army Angels, put up Christmas decorations, eat leftovers, and look forward to the next holiday.