Giving Thanks

"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories." - John Wilmot

I don't know how I forgot, but I came home last year for Thanksgiving. I had thought it had been forever, yet it was only one year. I looked back on my blog and noticed that I flew down to see Erika that year and other than that, my Thanksgiving was very similar. I'm starting to worry about my memory, maybe it is selective.

Wednesday I worked for a few hours and then came home. Corrie's brother Matt was there waiting for me since we were going to give him a ride down. I took care of some things I needed to do while we waited for Abram to drive down from Ft. Worth. We then drove down to Harlingen and met up with Corrie at the South Padre Island exit.

On the way back, we went to pick up my grandmother in Harlingen and drove the last leg of the trip to Edinburg. It was a long day of driving, mainly for Abram since he started before I did. Once we got home, Ana dropped in with her 2nd Turkey she just bought. She made a last minute audible that we needed more turkey and was able to get it ready before we went to bed. You have to have leftovers. Impulse decisions I'm a big fan of.

Thursday was Thanksgiving day and I woke up early. It was one of those days that you take for granted in the moment, but when looking back and seeing everyone together I'm sure I'll have very fond memories. Bekkah and Jamie came over, then Eliza, Gil and Tori. Later my dad, Ana and the kids showed up. Buy the time I was fully awake, the food was almost ready. After visiting, we had a late lunch and the food was good, but our 2nd turkey was a bit dry. Maybe it was just me. We also had a ham, my mom isn't a big fan of turkey, but this year I seemed to have more ham I think. There was a pretty cool article about how the Thanksgiving turkey didn't make you tired.

I watched the Cowboys win their game which is part of the tradition. I have to say I'm really pissed about the Cowboys Packers game next week not being aired on Time Warner Cable. I don't know where I stand on the issue, but not being able to see the game of the season is a pretty big issue for me. I don't want football to go the way of pay-per-view. I also don't want to pay more for cable for what I used to get for free (is you count watching all those ads free) on network TV. Just let us watch the game.

So I did the usual after turkey nap, but this time I really crashed out. My mom was actually worried that somehow I got drunk during lunch and passed out due to that, but I don't think two beers would do that to ya. It was kind of funny, but nice to know people worry about you. When I got up, I made my way to Ana's house to watch Grey's Anatomy. Really, this is exactly what I did last year. I saw my cousin Alex and her two girls. It was a good episode I think, still a big Rose fan.

After, I met up with Cynthia and we went out for a drink. We went to a bar where I had a good conversation with a waitress. There were not a lot of people there and she talked to us in Spanish. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Spanish, but I started shooting the shit with Sylvia and found out that a lot of my assumptions about her were wrong. She was from Mexico and had only been here for 3 months, but she was educated and came from at least some money. She was waiting to transfer credits and become a Spanish teacher, but her long term dream was to write a book about the culture in the border cities and later hoped to moved to NYC. You can learn a lot about someone if you just ask. Cynthia and I caught up but I feel like I could of been more fun. We were going to go and hang out with Rick, but it didn't work out, I'm glad though because the place we were going to meet at ended up having people I'm not too happy to be around. (not any of Rick's friends.) I still need to check out this new place though.

Friday I went over to Rick P's house to watch the Texas/A&M game. I met his girlfriend Kate, she was a really nice person, but I didn't get to talk to her too much. Hopefully I'll get to visit more with her next time. I hadn't really talked to Rick in a while, so we had some catching up to do. We watched the game as my heart was broken that Texas was playing so badly. I was starting to feel sick and thought it was allergies, but I would later find out out it was much worse. I then went over to Ana's Rick's house and watched the end of the game and helped him set up his new slingbox. I love that device. The weather was dreary, though I don't mind it, almost makes me feel in a better mood, like nothing really great is happening that I'm missing out on. I met up with Abram and Corrie there. After, we went out with Abram's high school friends in downtown McAllen. We met up with Elaine and her friend Nancy. I don't know why, but I'm always amazed at how some people can be so happy and full of energy and life. Is it an act? What makes people feel that way? It was a good time and we watched Vargas lose his boxing match and had a few drinks. My sickness started to really kick in Friday night.

Saturday I was useless as my cold fully took over. I woke up and called Ana to cancel on my plans with her. I went with Abram to visit my Dad and saw all the progress he has made. I want to help my family, and I don't want to lose sight of that goal. Giving makes people feel better, so I want to give to those that have given so much to me over my life. After we got back, I just slept as Abram with with Ana and Rick to Mexico. It is my favorite part of my trip home, but I had to skip it. I mainly just watched TV and spent time with my mother. Her house never feels empty when I'm there, but I forget that no one else lives there with her. Seem like when I am down, it is always full.

Sunday morning, my mom made breakfast, we packed up and Abram and I drove up to Austin. I was going to drive, but I was in no condition after a few miles of slow reaction time, so I had Abram drive even though I knew he had to drive to Ft. Worth after. It was a long trip, but we had some good conversations and set up some good goals to work towards. Other people's dreams motivate me to go after my own.

Monday I woke up and called in sick for work. I was in no condition to get anything done. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, but didn't have the money for it. I played a few games of poker and made just enough money, but didn't like the feeling that I needed to win or else I'd be in all kinds of trouble. That isn't the way to run a budget.

that is what happens when you leave the ball in their court