Our Thanksgiving Trip

We left on Tues., Nov. 22nd, to start the trip to southwest Oklahoma to visit my mother's side of the family. The passengers in the van were The Referee, My Only Sunshine, Grandma (my mother), and me. My sister, brother-in-law (newly home from Iraq!), and 8yo neice were already there. PaPa (my daddy) and Great Grandma stayed home since she isn't up to long road trips anymore.

We spent the night in Arkansas and arrived about 5 pm. It was good to see Grandma's brother and sister-in-law (from Kansas), and Grandma's sister and brother-in-law (who live there). We all went to the nursing home to see my Granny for a little while before her bedtime. My Only Sunshine and I hadn't been there since Sept. 2003, and it had been even longer since The Referee had been there. Before the weekend was over, we spent time with the above mentioned relatives, as well as all of my cousins and their families, and miscellaneous other family and friends. It was the first time in 6 yrs. that all of my cousins were together. We had a wonderful time reminiscing and laughing and eating more than usual.

My sister and I joined two of my cousins for some shopping on Friday. We weren't brave enough for the early morning crowds, but had lots of fun together and marked a few names off the gift list. Saturday, MOS & I just hung out at Granny's house, while The Referee spent some time hanging out with "the guys" (my male cousin and cousins-in-law). Granny and I had a conversation about how much she would rather be living in her own home instead of the nursing home. Most of the time she doesn't completely understand that she's not able to live alone anymore. Sat. evening we had a "cousins party" with more reminiscing, laughing and eating.

After Sunday morning worship and lunch, we spent our last hour in town with Granny back at the nursing home. (She had spent the previous 3 days and 2 nights at her house, on "leave" from the nursing home.) We had a good visit with her. In spite of the ravages of Parkinson's Disease and old age on her mind and body, we enjoyed talking and laughing together. As we pulled out of town and began our journey home, my eyes filled with tears as I realized the very real possibility that this might have been my last time to hug and kiss my Granny.

We had a stressful trip home. Driving through wildfires and dodging tornadoes is not enjoyable. But my favorite memories of this Thanksgiving trip are the light in Granny's eyes, the smiles on her face, and the sound of her laughing.