Thanksgiving - A Little Late - Life on Orcas Island

Had I not put everything aside to enjoy the kids’ week-long break from school, this is what I would have shared with you several days ago. Better late than never…

I caught the last moments of a DJ on the radio saying something like, “…and remember that a lot of people are wishing for so many of the things that you already have.”

I thought about that over and over during the Thanksgiving holiday. What things in life are people wishing and praying for that are already “normal” parts of your life or my life?

I can’t help but think of the hot, hot showers I can take anytime. The food in the fridge. The clean, endless water that I can drink. The warm blankets and hot fire. The love of my family. The safety I experience. My husband, our children, and our home.

Speaking of homes, especially those we couldn’t go in, it was so nice to virtually sit down with other people in their homes for a few minutes on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving day, thanks to a service Orcas Island Community Church created. Here it is if you’d like the chance to sit down by the fire with someone else (and since giving thanks never becomes irrelevant)…

It was definitely the quietest Thanksgiving most of us have experienced, but lovely nonetheless. Here’s a little peek of our time together. The younger made scalloped potatoes; the older made green tea snickerdoodles (since we’d already made numerous pumpkin pies in the weeks leading up); and I made sweet potato soup, pecan pomegranate wild rice, and cranberry sauce. The younger decorated the table, arranged the place settings, and served each of us. And we all made the most of being together.