A day of thankfulness, and learning a big, big lesson

Oh, I'm so far behind in updating this blog! I started writing right after Thanksgiving and am just now ready to post, so forgive me!

I have to say, I had a very nice, pleasant Thanksgiving, despite some very last minute changes in plans. It was warm and comfortable, surrounded by some of the people I love the most, with good food and good conversation. I have an awful lot to be thankful for.

And, over the last couple of days, I've learned a HUGE lesson about myself and life in general. I'm too nice. And it ends now!

Obviously, I need to explain.

The original plans for Thanksgiving around here were this: The three kids would get dropped off at Grandma's house (this would be their mother's mother) for two days of Thanksgiving fun, and Lloyd and I would enjoy our quiet time by doing absolutely nothing, like we've done the past couple of years, or, we might go to one of the many Indian casinos to be found around here and check out the buffet, play a few nickel slots and generally goof off.

Things changed at the absolute last-est last minute, approximately 10 or 12 seconds before

Lloyd and the kids were supposed to be getting in the car and leaving, when my baby girl was feeling so horrible, physically AND mentally, that I was not even remotely capable of making her get in the car and go. No way, no how. She needed to stay home, with me, and so she did. Lloyd accepted this pretty well, and I figured her Grandma would understand, given the extraordinary circumstances.

I called Grandma after Lloyd left, explained, and she took it pretty well, despite being disappointed.

I hadn't planned on cooking, but I had the

materials, luckily, so I pulled it together at the last minute. I couldn't have one of the kids home and not cook Thanksgiving dinner. The three of us had a very nice little dinner on our own. It's nice for Anna to have the two of us to herself once in a great while too. Quiet, pleasant and relaxing.

Now, here's the problem. Later, after I'd been off the phone with Grandma for a while, I realized that something that she said had really, really hurt my feelings. Then I found out that she told Lloyd something else that really hurt my feelings. What isn't important-- all that matters is that I realized that someone I thought of as a friend maybe didn't think of me as anything at all. Hmm.

Still--after 5 years of trying. I also found out that the ex, otherwise known at Mommy The Great and Wonderful, while thinking of me when I had surgery and sending flowers, was still upset with me. She kept thanking me for "taking such good care of her kids," as if I'm a nanny or something--when I considered them "our" kids these days, after I've been raising them for over 5 years - almost a year and a half longer than SHE raised Anna, by the way. I brought it up, she agreed that "our" was more appropriate now, and all was fine--until I found out that she's mad that I consider them "our" kids.

So, after all these years of trying, I've FINALLY realized what an unwinnable battle this is!

I hereby renounce all my efforts to try and make nice with people who don't want to be nice and who don't care about me at all. So there.

That was easy, right?! Yeah, we'll see how it goes in practice.

Since then, I've been alternating days of pre-holiday activity, shopping, decorating and all the usual fun with days of sitting very, very still and letting my back and hips rest after all the shopping and such.

It's going to be a pretty quiet Christmas for us, in that we won't have our usual houseful of company. I'm hoping Daddy and Chris will come, but they'll be about it. I'm part bummed and part ok with it all, because I'm just so tired that a quiet, mellow Christmas will be great. Each year since we've been married, we've hosted the family in whatever form, so it'll definitely be a change for us!!

How ever things work out, I'll be happy with it. I'm actually feeling pretty festive this year, maybe because I think I've got all the surgery behind me now, and I'm FINALLY on the road to recovery. That is definitely something to celebrate!!

I hope everyone else is finding things to be merry about too...2010 has got to be a better year for all of us, or else.

And for your entertainment...our Thanksgiving pumpkin Pi pie-- pi squared...but round. This was not my idea...I have strange children.