Thanksgiving in the Pineywoods

This morning, I realized how much I missed:

• Having other adults around to hold/feed/change Sarah while I chased Luke/drank my coffee/took a nap.
• A continuous supply of cookies, cakes, and pies. 
• The guiltlessness of eating an endless supply of cookies, cakes, and pies on a holiday.
• The laughter and hugs of my sister and brother, my mom and dad, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and grandmother.
• Opportunities to play Mexican Train (at least one round - before a child needs my attention).
• Watching the neighbors' bull chew on my parents' back lawn.
• Family concerts and family prayers.
• Walks in the woods.
• Laundry that miraculously does itself (when strategically placed within Mom's sight).
• Receiving multiple colorful construction-paper hearts.
• The camaraderie of brothers and uncles and husbands and dads and one grandmother crowded in front of a projector screen to cheer on the Cowboys and Longhorns.
• Greenberg turkey.
• Young cousins who know just how to entertain a 2.5-year-old boy.
• A chance to once again "prowl" the antique stores of downtown Nacogdoches (even in the rain).
• Braving a cold, sunny afternoon to pick out a "real" tree, just like when we were kids.
• Being forced by my dad and sister to look at every tree on the lot before choosing, just like when we were kids.
• The Home that will always be home to me, in some way or another.

But I'm also really glad to be back here. (Now if only that laundry would get up and fold itself...)