The Thanksgiving That Wasn't (But So Much To Be Thankful For)

Earlier this week our family got the news that my Dad was to be admitted to the hospital for some very intense Cancer treatments.

We were thankful that his procedures could be scheduled much sooner than anticipated, but it also threw a wrench into our small-town, down-home Thanksgiving plans.

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I am thankful to be part of a close-knit, understanding and flexible family though.

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Rather than gathering around a traditional table and taking traditional family photos, my Mom, my five younger sisters, brother-in-laws, my girls and I spent most of the Holiday week in Portland, Oregon - much of it in and around my Dad's hospital room.

This number of people made for crowded quarters and sometimes not a lot of rest for my Dad I'm sure, but he enjoyed having family around and keeping him company (hospitals can get boring!!).

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I am so thankful for the hospital staff who worked around all of us, sometimes having to step over Grandkids on computers or sisters sitting on the bed. Thankful too, for the wonderful care they gave my Dad.

We tried to trade off - regardless of the situation, stress tends to make even the calmest family a bit edgy - and I needed to keep my restless kids busy in the hospital environment as well.

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Fortunately the hospital's wi-fi provided some distraction and my girls tried to introduce their Grandparents to a little technology, and they signed all their Aunties up for the wonderment of FaceBook.

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My Mom get very excited and told me how the girls had shown her MyTubes and YourFace on the computer... I love my Mom.

Since all of us girls are seldom in the same place, my Mom also attempted to take some group photos.

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Though with six drama queens, no one was ever happy with the way THEY looked and it was QUITE a production.

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Regardless of the final pictures, it was nice to have my sisters there. I'm thankful we could all be together.

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Portland is a fun city.

I was thankful that it was easy to navigate and very Veg. friendly, (though there wasn't much open around the hospital on Thanksgiving Day).

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My girls and I did take a field trip to book lovers Heaven - Powell's Book Store (the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world).

We're all major book-geeks so we had an absolute blast. You wouldn't believe the entire floor-to-celing aisles of every book imaginable, even VEGAN COOKBOOKS.

Lots of fun and funky toys too - Nice distraction for a few hours and we only saw two floors!

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And dinner? We had a simple Thanksgiving dinner in my Mom's extended-stay motel room. Mac and cheese, salad, oranges, pies and some misc. (vegan) take out. More to be thankful for, just being able to be together.

My Mom, bless her heart, was so distracted earlier in the week. Who can blame her!?!

.She is always more than accomodating when we have a family meal, but I called her and asked if I could bring anything specifically vegan and she said "Oh no honey, it's fine, you'll have something to eat - we have oranges!"

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Oranges, huh?

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All I could do was smile. I know she had bigger things to worry about. My kids did find it amusing however, and turned "oranges" into a running joke between us for the entire week.

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I really am thankful for my wonderful kids and their sense of humor. We all need to laugh a little, it helps keep things from getting too dark.

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Best of all, my Dad responded very positively to the treatments and was able to come home today. For that I am most thankful.

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Here's hoping each of you shared the Holiday with those you love.