Reflections – November 2009
Because I am a total slacker, and because life between Thanksgiving and now has been a whirlwind, I never got around to writing a Reflections post for November. Which is a shame. November wasn’t too shabby. To make it up to you, I threw something quick together. I was going to do a combo Reflection of November and December, but it turned into something so long, it exhausted me to read it. I’m sure I won’t have a very clear vision of November, but I will do my best to remember.
The first week and a half of November I was still on medical leave. Mentally, it was a very tormenting time. There were moments when I was dying to return to work. I was ready to get up an move on. Then, there were times that the idea of returning to work made me ill. I had gotten very comfortable at home. There were also times when I didn’t know what I wanted or how I felt.
On November 10th, I returned to work. I was surprised at how relieved I was to be back. It was nice to get dressed and accomplish things. I struggled. I was exhausted. Thankfully I was able to return with light duty work and on limited hours. I had to embrace the changes that had naturally taken place while I was out. It’s both comforting and challenging to realize that things continue when you are away.
During the weeks following my return to work, most of our efforts were spent working to figure out how to, once again, juggle our schedules, maintaining a home, and of course keeping Moanna happy, healthy and entertained. It’s amazing how quickly we unlearn how to juggle. It’s not quite like riding a bike, you have to practice and it’s inevitable that you will drop a ball or all of them.
Thanksgiving week was a very fulfilling week for us. It was also a huge blessing for me and my body, as I readjusted to life as a working woman. We squeezed in three Thanksgiving meals and made apple butter. On Wednesday, we had Thanksgiving with my Family. Thursday we had Thanksgiving lunch at Nanny and PopPop’s, and Thanksgiving dinner with my Dad’s Family. Thursday evening, and all day Friday we made a butt load of apple butter. Unfortunately, with just a few days off, we were not able to make it to Maryland for this break.
The Sunday following Thanksgiving, I gave my first talk in church. Eeeek. It was about family. I referenced all of the Thanksgiving meals we had, and all of the many other people we share food with. I then explained that family to me is not exclusive to the people on our family tree, but they are everyone we share food with. When we share food, we are also laughing, crying, making memories, arguing, sharing major life changes and learning from each other. Therefore, these people are family.
November was a good month. I wish I had written my thoughts and reflections of it much sooner than now. It was a sink or swim kind of month, and I think we managed to at least tread water.
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I like your definition of family. Sharing meals with others really does provide for some quality bonding time.
Over the last several years I’ve developed an attachment to my friends that are stronger than those I have with many relatives. My friends are the people I am with nearly every day, eating, drinking, working, playing, laughing, crying, grumbling, sharing, helping, being helped by. This huge family is a blessing I can’t imagine walking away from. We’ve chosen each other. We’re stuck with the family we’re born or marry into whether or not there is harmony. But, we get to build this other family from people we edit through and select for compatibility and that’s why they are so important to us.