30 Days of Thanks: The Holiday Weekend

I've been so slack about my daily thank yous. Not that I haven't had anything to be thankful for, but between work and kids and strep throat and hosting Thanksgiving, sometimes the last thing I could do at the end of the evening was put my fingers on a keyboard and expect something coherent to appear.

In an attempt to make up some ground, here is what I am thankful for after our fantastic Thanksgiving weekend:

* Visitors! My kids were so excited that people were coming here. I think they realized how special that was. And not having to pack up for the fourth time in as many months to make the six hour drive north on I85 on Wednesday was definitely something for us to be thankful for.

* Nieces. My sister's six month old little girl is a complete and total munchkin. Watching her perfect sitting up and come perilously close to crawling while trying to keep up with the boys was so much more fabulous than the hour or two I normally get with her when we're in town bustling between her house and whatever commitments we have and visiting with our other niece and nephew. Having one on one time with any member of our family is a precious commodity and I truly value the opportunity we had this weekend to watch her over the course of several days and wonder at her perfection.

* Sisters. Let's just say last Thanksgiving featured pregnancy hormones and the Thanksgiving before that boasted my postpartum hormones and both led to some not-pretty sisterly moments. This year? It was back to the best of times and I had a blast. Particularly because I was able to see her in full on mommy mode and she is awesome at it.

* Parents/Grandparents. Maybe I'm weird, but I like hanging out with my folks. We have interesting conversations about politics and books and assorted randomness. It was nice to just pour a glass of wine and chat. On the other hand, I also love watching them with the boys. Reading stories, building blocks, playing games, watching movies, they are all in when it comes to their grandkids and I love it. And hearing my toddler refer to Grandpa as "Buppa" is just too cute for words.

* The Atlanta Botanical Gardens. If you live in the Atlanta area, please go see the Garden Lights this season. The whole family (and half of Atlanta) went on Friday night and it was just spectacularly beautiful. Walking hand-in-hand with my five year old through the pitch black rain forest house with the frogs chirping all around us and looking up into the vine draped canopy that was glittering in green laser lights was a moment I will hold onto forever. Trust me. You should go.

* Warm climates. We spent Friday at a local park walking and playing and chasing after Peanut on his big wheel trike. Then we spent that evening at the Botanical Gardens without having to bundle up in 5 layers to stay warm. Enjoying the outdoors as a family and walking off the previous days pies was a wonderful way to spend the day.

* Sunday. This morning, my parents stopped in between their hotel and their trip north. They hit the road at 10am and called about 4:15 to say they had arrived home. In that time, I finished a book, did three loads of laundry, changed the linens in the boys' room, emptied the dishwasher, and wrote four press releases for work. That doesn't include all the activities the boys have all been up to in that time. Not having to drive the six hours home from a family holiday was a unique moment for us, and one that I truly appreciate.

I hope your holiday weekends were as lovely and filled with thanks.