Thanksgiving 2016

One year ago, Chris, Katy, and I spent Thanksgiving day with my family.  My dad obtained use of a large facility at SWAU (a local university), and all of my family gathered in it.  All of them.  Aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents from both sides of my family.  There were lots of people, and there was lots of food.

Katy and I were one of the firsts ones through the food line because everyone expects the impatient toddlers to go through lines first, and impatient toddlers always need an adult escort.  As I scanned the room for a place to sit, I saw the table where my grandma Sullivan, Mimi, and Hazel were seated.  I remembering thinking, "We'll sit at the old lady table."  Katy and I made room for our plates, and eventually Chris joined us.  The table was crowded, and Katy was messy.   Katy ate anything and everything her hands touched.  Mimi opined that we would not have to worry about Katy's appetite.  It was a lovely meal.  Had I known it was the last of many meals I would eat with both Hazel and Mimi present, I would have taken a picture of that crowded, messy table.   

This year, 2016, I ate Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma Sullivan again but both Hazel and Mimi were missing, permanently absent from Thanksgiving dinner and the rest of life's events.  I found myself feeling grateful for choosing the old lady table just one year earlier and wishing I had that option again.

A picture from a Thanksgiving past, my favorite Thanksgiving.

Katy with my Grandma Sullivan this Thanksgiving.