Thanksgiving 2007 - A Time to Reflect... And Look Forward

Today was Thanksgiving. For me, it's a bit of a landmark date.

It marks a period of transition. It was Thanksgiving Eve when the whole family arrived from Germany, schlepping our most important worldly possessions with us.

First time I've ever been met at an airport by a TV news crew... Wanting to document the saga of E's journey back.

It marked the closing of the Germany chapter and the beginning of what (we thought) was to be a long stateside one. Amazing what we didn't know.

So, Thanksgiving 2007 marks the beginning (in my mind) of "It's Been One Year..." One year since the whole world changed.

I have a lot to be thankful for... My father, for one. His support has been immeasureable, setting a bar so high, I can only dream of one day meeting that standard with my children. Last year, as we prepared to evacuate (I use "evacuate" due to the nature of our departure) Deutschland... Our adopted home... He realized the effort it would take. This man (and his willing accomplice, Patricia, ex-wife #2) FLEW to Europe just to help us move and make the journey back. And in the year since, in so many ways, including shouldering the ultimate responsibility and burden, I am indebted. I am thankful for my Dad. And love him dearly.

I am thankful for my Angels... M*A (and the angel family), PJ, Andrea, Miss Birdlegs, and countless others, who've defined Angels in whole new ways. Whether it was being there to listen, or to help me keep writing - when just getting out of bed was hard, to knowing when to whisper a wise word... Or just a needed hug.

My Dad has his own Angel, in the form of Miss D... Who's also embarked on an unplanned journey, and without whom, four lives would be much emptier. She's a teacher... In and out of the classroom.

I'm thankful for memories... As painful and tormenting as they sometimes can be.. For just as powerful is their hurt is their *simultaneous* joy.

And for my visions of the future. M & T. Veritable beacons of Hope and Life itself. Watching them grow learn, and develop... And sharing it with them. Two children who've sacrificed much and demonstrate how to keep moving forward. With Hearts full of unending Love, so pure and innocent, and minds already wise with Life's Lessons... I can look at them and see a time machine - able to look into the past, at what was... Just one year ago... And also all that is to come.

For all of this, I am thankful. For as hard as each day is, keeping the sea of thick blackness at bay, these are the beams of sunshine that make it worth going to see the next day.