Happy days. Yesterday was the first little inkling of winter. It snowed for point five in the afternoon and quite a bit in the evening. There is only 38 days until Christmas. However, I like to think of myself as a purist when it comes to the winter holidays. I believe that they all deserve equal attention! It shouldn't go straight from Halloween to Christmas. I mean Thanksgiving is the freakin bomb! It is the one day a year that we aren't judged for getting fourths of Grandma's pretzel jello salad! (Although the judgment has never stopped me before...) 

Sooooooo, in honor of Thanksgiving next week I decided to dedicate the next few days to turkey stories. The majority of them will probably come from the glorious turkey plant because that is where most of my turkey stories come from. 

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I did want to start today off with a little different type of turkey tale. This story happened over a decade ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. This story began at my grandparent's house on Thanksgiving. It was quite a day full of food and fun! Us cousins were wreaking havoc as per usual. Pretending that we were aliens with olives on our fingers, sneaking as many rolls as we could, eating said rolls in the safety under the blankets in the guest rooms. 

It was all well and good, I was just a little girl having the time of my life. What I didn't know was what my parents were holding in. You see, my dad was part of the National Guard and he had received a phone call the previous day. He was to be deployed in January. My parents decided that it was best to keep that bit of information to themselves. They didn't want to ruin the festivities for the rest of us. Looking back now I am very thankful for that. 

The following day they sat my siblings and me down and explained what was going to happen. I was young, so I didn't fully comprehend what was going to happen. Essentially my dad was going to leave for a period of 18 months to serve our country.

Those 18 months were some of the hardest that my family and I have ever had to go through. When there is a key person mission from your life you totally recognize that. Having this happen has really helped me understand the importance of family and loving them no matter what. 

I suppose that what I want to draw from writing this is the importance of not taking things for granted. What we have today may not be there tomorrow. I know that sounds depressing and bleak. I don't mean it to be that way, What I am trying to say is that we should appreciate what we have now. Time, people, dogs, education, everything. All that we have is a gift. If you knew that you wouldn't have it tomorrow how would you treat it today?

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Don't fret, the rest of my turkey stories will actually deal with turkey (or something of the like). I just felt impressed to write this today. I suppose I am feeling homesick for my family. It has been a while since I've been home. I'm ready for that feeling of belonging and understanding that comes with family. 

Things are well.

--Aubs