Here in the States, we celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday. While it's not really a huge turkey-dinner kind of celebration at our house, I have always cherished the notion that everyone in our country stops for a whole day to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. What a cool day for celebration!
Kat and I have so much to celebrate this year: Ricky came home for several months, Kat got a couple of new doctors and we found an online community of support for her IH, I have a steady job with flexible hours to accommodate Kat's medical needs, we have started this new cake pop business that is growing and providing a much-needed additional income, Chrisi's baby (due in mid-December) is healthy and on time so far, Selina is safely Stateside and out of harm's way rather than being deployed again, and..... well.... SO MANY more things!
I got to thinking about where we've been and where we're headed. A friend of mine commented that we have moved just about every year (and maybe more) since she's known us, and she's known us for about eight years. Wow, has it really been that many times? Oh, as far as BIG moves we've only made one -- from Northern California to Southern California. But if you're talking about changing residences, then yeah we've moved a lot.
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| Christmas 1998, in our 4-bedroom house (a lifetime ago!) |
Makes me think about what I consider "home" to be. Is it the house where we live? Nah. We used to have the traditional 4-bedroom house with a yard. Lived there for about six years. That's probably the longest we've lived anywhere, I guess. Over the last decade, we've lived in a room in someone else's house (Selina, Chrisi, Ricky, Kat, and me), a three bedroom house (Chrisi, Ricky, Kat, and me), a one bedroom house (Ricky, Kat, and me), a two bedroom apartment, a three bedroom apartment, a two bedroom house, a two bedroom apartment, a three bedroom house, a two bedroom apartment, and now Kat and I are in a room in someone else's house. Ha ha, almost full circle now that I think about it. Kinda crazy, huh? But we're okay with where we are for now. We know that this living situation is only temporary, and we look forward to the day when we can afford our own place again. With Kat's medical bills, that might be a while. But the day will come.
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| December 2005 The last time all five of us were together, I think |
I've found that as long as I have contact with all of my kids, I'm at peace and that's where "home" is for me. No matter where we live at the moment, if I'm in touch with the most important people in my life -- my children -- then I'm home. And I'm happy. So this year, the thing I'm most thankful for is home; the home that's in my heart. The home where my God speaks to me and brings me peace. The home where I can love my children no matter how far away they are and know that somehow that love touches them.
What are you most thankful for this year?
~ Pia
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