Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends. I hope that this holiday finds you well. And that you will have a wonderful day filled with family and friends.

The holiday in the US is still several weeks off. This year, I am grateful for that for many reasons. I have thought in the past that the holidays feel like Happy Hallothanksmasnewyear. Once October starts the year runs non-stop, full speed through the holidays and right into the next year. Often not giving me time to reflect on or fully appreciate the day that I should be celebrating. As much as I want to make this year different, I'm not sure that can happen. I will spend this year without my children, or grandchildren. And without the friends, co-workers and church family that I spent my life around. It is an opportunity for me to make new memories and new traditions, but I miss everyone. And I'm a bit homesick. Being here is good for me. And there are many reasons that staying wouldn't have worked. But holidays are a transition, and I'm going to have to work through this one.

Part of the reason the nostalgia has hit me so hard this weekend is a bit of sleep deprivation. Our black cat, Ghost has been injured and has been hanging out in my room. I noticed him limping on Wednesday after I came home from Sit and Knit. I tried to get him to let me see the paw, but he refused. It was a really cold night and he was lying by the door in the living room. I picked him up and brought him to the chair in my room. It's one of his favorite places. Thursday morning he was favoring his paw, but still getting around. I finally got a look at it. From what I can tell it seems he's split the hind claw. I called the number for the vet, but since he isn't technically my cat, she wouldn't give me an appointment. My sister called my niece who came over and disagreed with me over the cause of his limping. She looked it up on Google and said that he most likely had a strained paw. He let us take turns holding him with a wash cloth soaked in Epson salts on it.

By Friday morning he'd quit putting weight on the paw and it is swollen, a little more than twice the size it normally is. My niece called the vet again, and was told that she was out of town, we should take him somewhere else. The only options were to take him to an emergency animal hospital or wait until Monday. We can't afford the emergency vet, so the poor kitty has had to suffer since Wednesday. In the mean time, he's gotten really attached to me and very used to my bed. I think he may have  taken it over.

The other thing that happened this weekend is that Jess got married in Georgia. As planned, Mollie was her Maid of Honor.  Mollie wanted to give the speech of her life for Jess's toast. And to do that, she instant messanged and Facetimed me all night on Friday. The toast had to be perfect for her friend. And it was. Her boyfriend, Chris filmed it for me and I saw it. She did a fabulous job.

These girls, born on the same day. Friends forever and joined at the hip even though they now live nearly a thousand miles apart. And their lives are so different.

I feel sad that we all live so far from each other. And still I'm glad for the technology that keeps us all together.