Unexpected

The Unexpected Thanksgiving Weekend-

For the trip to go so well, one of the best trips home, ever.

For Ben not to ask a gazillion questions at the funeral.

He simply took my explanations at face value. Including the rationale for caskets as the special boxes needed for God to take you back to Heaven. I equated it to a race car covered in flowers. He now thinks Heaven is filled with dead hamsters, his cats, and old ladies that lived on a farm with cows.

For Ian to have let out a huge belch during a prayer.

For the response from Lu's son when I went to apologize, "mom was laughing, indeed"

For a beautiful fall day to say goodbye to this memorable great aunt when heavy rain was forecast

For the Thanksgiving meal to have reheated as well as it did. The whole meal did feel a little like Holidays on Ice, even without the freeze ahead aspect.

For my ability to roast a Cornish Game Hen and attempt to carve it.

For the patience to sit through Oprah's recent interview with Barbara Streisand without snarky comments.

For smiling as my mom relayed how my brother and I fought over setting up the Nativity scene breaking off the angels wings. This story as I was telling Ben that the wise men didn't kick each other in the face.

For her to be able to play the piano for Ben to dance and Ian to crawl to the music

For us to get her house fully decorated before we departed.

For me to find my own home with lights strung outside, leaves raked, and the tree ready to be decorated.

I made it a 2010 goal to approach relationships with new eyes and a positive attitude. It has made all the difference and lead to the unexpected.