186 Days (So Thankful)

Thanksgiving is my fourth favorite holiday, right after my birthday, Christmas, and Valentine's Day.

My family likes to do Thanksgiving big.  Over the last ten years we have tried to always have guests at our table who are not from the United States so that they can experience the love that we feel, and we also like to each invite one or two friends as well.  This means that our dinners have always been an ordeal.

I have noticed in the past that my Mom gets tired of all of the sweat and blood that goes into cooking for such a large party, and thought nothing of it because I still got to eat the fruits of her labor.  She actually threatened us last year with no feast, so my sisters and I chipped in to make the dinner instead.  This year was different.  For whatever reason, my sisters and I (mostly Anna) decided to really be proactive about Thanksgiving so that Mom wouldn't feel bogged down by the end of it.  Anna and my mom prepared most of the food two days early so that there wouldn't be a kitchen frenzy on Thursday, and Erin (my oldest sister and roommate here in Austin) decided that we should all eat in a charming backyard setting.  It was magical, and maybe our best Thanksgiving yet.

Even our "thankful for" speeches were top notch.  One guest was thankful that he could finally rest after retirement, a sister was thankful for job opportunities, Mom was thankful that we could all be a family.  While I listened to the people in front of me list all that they were grateful for this past year, I realized just how amazing my year has been.  I have made some of the best friends of my life in Texas 4000, I am planning my wedding with my college sweetheart/love of my life, and I have my health.  So many thoughts went through my head at that time, and while I can't remember all of the nuances that I felt while trying to decide what to say, I do know that I decided to "officially" be thankful that I, along with most of my close friends and family, have my health.  Texas 4000 continues to expose me to the pain that people suffer as a result of cancer, and I am so grateful that I don't have to feel this pain right now.  The prevalence of cancer means that it is incredibly likely that five of the people at our table will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, but for now we are healthy and able to sit together on my fourth favorite holiday.