Thanksgiving Week

Thanksgiving week was a lot more stressful than I had hoped it would be!

Daughter had to have knee surgery for a torn meniscus.  She is not a good patient under everyday circumstances, so having to have this surgery really messed her up.  I should have thought to ask for something to calm her nerves BEFORE we went to the hospital - maybe it would have helped.  It was a long day, but I am thankful for the doctor, the wonderful nurses, and especially the anesthesiologist who calmed her fears just before they took her in. Although she has a ways to go, she is improving every day.

We spent Thanksgiving Day with hubby's family at his mom's house.  His sister arrived late with her new boyfriend, and we had already drawn names for the family Christmas gift exchange. She was dismayed to learn we had not included boyfriend in the gift exchange, even though historically, significant others have not been included until they have married into the family.  She withdrew her name from the list in protest.  It kind of put a damper on the day, but after discussing it with the other siblings, hubby was able to convince his sister to participate by including the boyfriend as well.  Hopefully there will be no hard feelings over this.

Friday after Thanksgiving, we visited hubby's dad and his wife, who are dealing with his dad's Alzheimer's. He was having a good day on Friday, and we had a nice visit.  It's a difficult situation because he doesn't remember anything recent, but he talks constantly about when he was a kid growing up.  His wife is not well-liked by my hubby and his siblings; in their defense, she has created many of the problems herself by how she has treated them.  Wife is upset that hubby's siblings only rarely call or visit.  There are reasons why they don't visit often, but I wish they would call more than they do.  We try to call and visit at least once a month, which doesn't seem like much, I know. As hard as it is, I hope my hubby and his siblings realize their dad will not always be here.  I am thankful they have this time with him, and I hope they can move past their differences with his wife so they can enjoy what time they do have.

We didn't get to see my family this week, but I did talk with my parents and a couple of my siblings by phone. I look forward to them being at my house for Christmas!

In spite of the stress, I am thankful for all the good things in my life!