My mother

I always get thoughtful this time of year. Not only is it Thanksgiving and therefore time to think about all I'm thankful for, but November 26th is the day my mom died. Today marks 13 years ago.
I was only 11 when she died, so many of my memories of her are foggy. I often wish that I remembered more. A few months ago, I was thinking about my parents (all three of them) and about what I have gotten from them. My dad's interest in learning and seeing how things work. My second mom's value of clarity and communication. But I was having a hard time figuring out what I'd gotten from my first mom. So I was praying about it and thinking for a while and I figured a few things out.
I randomly remembered a time when there was a bird's nest outside our living room window and my mom made a big deal out of us going to the window every morning to check on the eggs and then to see the babies. And we were all sad when we saw that the baby birds had left the nest. That sort of thing was classic for my mom. Enjoying the small things in life, whether it was baby birds or crafts or cooking. That is one of the things Torben says he loves about me, too. I enjoy the small things in life. Knitting tiny animals, savoring every bite of a chocolate chip cookie, having all sorts of little projects.
When we were visiting my sister Dana in Ohio, I mentioned to her that I don't like to wear much makeup because my eyes are constantly watering when I wear makeup. That's when Dana told me that our mom was allergic to makeup as well and that I ought to try the kind of makeup she used. I went and bought it and my eyes never water anymore. Simple yes, but it showed me a way that I'm like her...thanks a lot...
Those were a few things about her that I think she has passed on to me. There are probably more and I'm glad I'm still remembering things about her. She was very peaceful and loving and I always felt at ease around her. She was a beautiful person and I still miss her.

Thanksgivings Past

I'm very excited to be in America for this coming Thanksgiving. It's always been my favorite holiday for many reasons - no stress of finding the right gift for people, good food, lots of games and downtime. I like the fall colors and the food is just wonderful. I was thinking about Thanksgiving and how cool it is that I'm back in America for this holiday and I realized that it's my first Thanksgiving in America since 2002! Six years of non-American Thanksgivings! So here's a review of my Thanksgiving experiences.

Thanksgiving 2003 - Holmsted Manor in England. It was 3 weeks after Torben and I became a couple and I had a lot of fun introducing him to Thanksgiving. It was the middle of our lecture phase of our DTS so we were learning a lot and getting ready to leave just a few weeks later for outreach. Torben wanted to find out the history of Thanksgiving so he took someone's video camera around the Manor and asked the Americans what Thanksgiving is about. He got a variety of answers, some of them crazy...eg. Thanksgiving celebrates the genocide of Indians...um...

Thanksgiving 2004 - Back at Holmsted Manor, but leading this time. My friend Dorothy and I took charge of organizing the Thanksgiving festivities and we had lots of fun! It was a little stressful but still good. It was a few weeks before leading our first outreach. Destination: Ukraine!

Thanksgiving 2005 - Copenhagen, Denmark. We were living there for a few months after we got married. I was a bit depressed to be missing Thanksgiving that year. Without me knowing, Torben talked to his coworker and they organized a Thanksgiving dinner for us. So I had Thanksgiving that year with a whole group of Danes and I got to explain the history of my favorite holiday...and I didn't mention genocide

Thanksgiving 2006 - Zhytomir, Ukraine. We had led an outreach that involved a few weeks in Zhytomir, a smaller city west of Kiev, and we met and became friends with an American girl named Liz. So we arranged for a joint Thanksgiving celebration. Her mom came from America and brought sweet potatoes (they don't grow over there) so we had sweet potato casserole! We ended up with a large group of Americans, Ukrainians, and of course a Dane!

Thanksgiving 2007 - Kiev, Ukraine. I gathered many of the Americans on the YWAM Kiev base and hosted Thanksgiving in our little apartment. That Thanksgiving was the best of all of my foreign Thanksgivings because I really knew all of the people who were there. They were all good friends so it was cozy and a lot of fun. Plus, I made a pumpkin pie from scratch so I was very proud of myself :)

So now, Thanksgiving 2008, we'll be in a cabin in North Georgia with most of my immediate family (the Ohio sisters couldn't make it sadly). And that has been the big thing missing from the past 6 Thanksgivings - my family. That and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade :) It's going to be great to be with everyone again and get the true American Thanksgiving experience!