Thankfulness

Well, I managed to survive Thanksgiving. It was tough, but I made it through and I promise you this is no small feat considering we have three families to visit in just one day. We start early in the morning to make the rounds and it's a killer, especially dragging the girls around like little rag dolls. It's the way we've done the holidays ever since Charles and I got together, which I just realized is a full 13 years.

So here we go, gallivanting around from family to function to family function. We kill ourselves to make each family gathering ensuring that everyone gets to see the kids. It's not exactly the easiest thing to do. The drive is tiring all by itself. We put in hours in the car going from place to place and at least a few hours at each location so that we feel slightly ready to get back into the car and drive some more. It turns out to be a really long day, especially for the girls. By the end of it, they are overwhelmed, exhausted and cranky and their behavior spirals ever downward making my husband and I overwhelmed, exhausted and cranky, too.

Thursday night, at the end of it all, as we were pulling my sleeping daughters out of the car and carrying them into bed, I noticed the light on at my elderly neighbor's home. It was awfully late for her to be up. Hettie almost always had things locked down tight by 8:00pm. I wondered why she might still be up and decided I'd just check in on her after I got the kids inside.

When I knocked on her door, it took her a while to get there and answer it. She is a tiny woman, but a firecracker who is fiercely independent. She has trouble walking but insists on doing everything herself. I started to feel guilty for forcing her to make the difficult trip to the front of the house. But when she answered the door, her face lit up and she immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. She sat me down at her kitchen table and put on a coffee pot. I started to tell her that I couldn't stay and thought about how caffeine that late was going to make for a miserable night's sleep. But then it dawned on me; Hettie had told me long ago, when we first moved in, she didn't have any family. So I stayed until after midnight drinking coffee and talking with her, letting her dote on me and tell me about the day she spent with the folks down the street, eating with their family and enjoying their children.

Though Hettie wasn't alone on Thanksgiving, she didn't have a family to make a fuss over her comfort while the Turkey was cooking, nor grandchildren to run screaming through the room, planting a hug and kiss on her once in a while as they played. I began thinking to myself that I was quite selfish for that sigh of relief I exhaled earlier when the day was over. I was lucky to have a big, wonderful, loving family that welcomed us year after year.

Next year, if she's up to it, I think I might just take Hettie with us on our rounds. It would do wonders for both of us! It feeds the soul to help another, bringing a sense of balance and fulfillment that is like nothing else. And, as a matter of fact, I made up my mind that one night a week, the girls would get to stay up late and go with me to Hettie's to keep her company. After all, we both deserve the wellness that togetherness creates.

Kym Wilson
123 Feel Better Wellness Advisor
http://www.123feelbetter.net/
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