As I tried to put on my jeans this morning I think I am still feeling the effects of our fantastic Canadian Thanksgiving and the left overs that we weren't able to pass along to our guests. They feel a wee bit tighter than they did the week before. That's alright no more big dinners for me until Christmas; at least that is my plan.

Our Canuck-giving turned out bigger than we originally thought and I think there were a few people who felt a bit left out.  Which I hate for anyone to think they were left out for any other reason except we didn't have the space. As it was there were a total of 15 people including ourselves in our modest little house. The weather was gorgeous that day. I had to work that morning so I cleaned and prepped as much as I could so when I got home all that had to be done was throw the two turkey breasts in the oven and Paul was on the veggies and stuffing. The upstairs neighbor went away for the weekend but offered us the use of her fire place in the backyard. As you may or may not know from previous blog entries she often makes us feel  un-welcomed in the shared backyard so this came as a lovely surprise. It was warm out but not too bad, as the sun was setting it cooled down and once everyone got here some moved to the backyard to sit at the patio table or on steps. Some stood around the kitchen and ate and chatted. At one point I stood back by the sink taking it all in. I watched as people who have never met before chatted like old friends, as another guest came through the back door for his third helping of the veggie turkey roast. I smiled as I watched my friend's little boy toddle his way around all the people aiming for the open back door to see what waited out there for him; while I could hear his older brother in the living room giving a show and tell about his sea creatures he got at the aquarium with all the details of what each creature could do. Who could eat you or ink you. In that moment I just thought "Yup, Mum would be pretty pleased if she could see this. This is what Thanksgiving is about. This is how I wanted to celebrate her life and memory." Most people in attendance didn't really know how Paul and I came up with this tradition and I think it made it that much better. The point was we got our new friends together for a harvest feast and give thanks for being there for us and a reminder of how far we have come if our tiny house was filled to the brim with friends.

On Thanksgiving Monday which technically is the real big day, my cousin called to chat. We rarely get to chat on the phone so this was a real treat. It was great talking to her and she shared all the good news and happenings in her world. I went back to work Tuesday with a strange peace in my soul. A feeling I hadn't recalled feeling in years. There was a sense of renewed hope, even if fleeting it was still there.

Just when you thought your week couldn't get much better; there was a text message from my brother saying my nephew Quintin wanted to talk to me could I call? The message was sent two hours earlier so I wasn't even sure if Quintin would still be up so I texted back that I was on my way home and would call when I got in. I barely got my shoes off and I was calling. Quintin never talks on the phone. He will yell in the background or have his Dad talk to me but he NEVER gets on the phone nor does he ask to talk to me. I was a bit surprised. Scott answered and told Quintin his Auntie Shannon was on the phone. He came right to the phone without persuasion. Then he just started talking! Like a little grown up! I couldn't believe my ears, he was speaking so clearly and was asking questions and we chatted for a while until finally it was way past his bed time. He told me that he was looking at photos of me earlier because he wanted to see me and it had been a long time. My heart broke a little bit. I said "yeah it has been a long time since I came to visit you hasn't it?" I get this little "yeah' back. I told him I will come to visit soon. "How long is soon?!" I said "well it is a lot of days to count but I will be there just after your birthday." Then I hear him say "Daddy when is my birthday?" to which my brother tells him 6 months.  Which is still a long time but I will make it an extra special trip. I think this trip will require me to stay longer than  usual so I can get lots of Quintin time in. We talked about school and he wanted to see photos of my house and could hear the cats so he asked me to send pictures of them. Next thing you know we are blowing up the phone lines sending pictures from our phones. Finally we had to say good night and he asks me "Can I call you tomorrow night?!" I was smiling from ear to ear. " I said you can call me anytime you want. Or you can have Daddy text me and I will call you if I am home!"  He liked that idea too. With that he was ready to go to bed. "Night! Love you!' He yells into the phone.

It just blows my mind to think that kids grow up so fast, one minute he was a baby crawling around in these orange and yellow fleece footie pj's I got him and the next he is having full telephone conversations with me asking questions.

Maybe it's my pending birthday or something, but I am feeling really old. But grateful. On that note I am off to get my grey hair covered.