108 Over 70...

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving was a good one. Here's praying that the horrible things you dreaded never really came to pass. Here's wishing you were able to just be present and pleasant. I, for one, was able to spend the holiday with both sides of my family and return home unscathed. While this has not always been the case I am happily placing this particular feather in my cap...the cap that previously held no other feathers. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps it is merely my frame of mind at the time that establishes the outcome of the family get-together for this year I was more or less a blank canvas. I did not bring past hurts or previous stings with me this year. I left behind the grudges that used to rest on my shoulders. I smiled and nodded and listened and laughed...I did it...I made it through the meal without a tear and without a jab. So it took me twenty plus years of being the "outsider" -so be it. Life has merely lengthened out the wrinkles like a stretched piece of cloth. A couple more pulls and it might tear apart, but if cared for it just might find a home in the cabinet with all the other linens. It just might become a treasured quilt square in another generation.

The evening found me at my parents' home. For a change I finally feel a little bit of separateness from their home and my own. Maybe if they still lived in the home of my childhood I might have more difficulty finding the line in the sand, but since they don't I am starting to realize that I have officially grown up and grown on. The good news is that the unconditional love that follows my parents no matter where they call home is always present and welcoming. We enjoyed good food and great fun. A pleasant game of Tripoloy was played and a good time was had by all. Just knowing that my kids now know the difference between a full house and a royal straight means so much to me!

At the end of the night my daughter went around checking everyone's blood pressure and pulse...just another fun game we like to play now that Dad has his own machine! The good news is that we were all so full and content that our numbers were very low!

May your blood pressure remain low throughout the rest of the holiday season!!!