Thankful

When I think of Thanksgiving, I have thoughts coming from two ends of a very broad spectrum. On one hand, I think of family, warmth, delicious food, family football tosses, walks in the autumn air, and a general sense of thankfulness for everything I have and all those who surround me. But on the other hand, I think of stalled traffic, too much time in the car, rushing from house to house, and just too many loved ones and not enough time.

Jarrett suffered from a bout of amnesia this year when we began discussing our Thanksgiving plans. He really wanted to travel to North Carolina, and I was having doubts, remembering what chaos ensues when we try to just get out of Atlanta. We stayed home the last two Thanksgivings -- the first because Elsa was just a wee little thing, and we did not feel like taking two long car trips, two months in a row, and the second? Just because, I guess. Jarrett forgot this. He also forgot about all of the horrendous traffic and the running from house to house. So we decided to go to North Carolina. And I'm glad we did.

We actually encountered quite the amount of luck getting out of town last Wednesday. Traffic was really not bad at all, and we escaped possible death at least twice that I know of. The only kink in the drive, really, was Elsa throwing up in her car seat as we drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway in complete darkness.

The drive was long and tiring, but it was so wonderful to arrive in the mountains, meeting our friends, Tim and Kate, and Tim's mom, Sharon. We got Elsa tucked into bed as quickly as we could manage and settled in for a glass of wine and cozy conversation in front of the fire. On Thursday, my parents and more of Kate and Tim's family joined us for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. We were many people in an average amount of space, but I did not feel crowded at all. It just felt right. And the mountain air and delectable food did us all good.

So after two nights with Tim and Kate, the real whirlwind began. We drove from the mountain country down to the High Point area to stay with Jarrett's mom for one night. Soon after we arrived, we headed over to Jarrett's aunt and uncle's house for another Thanksgiving meal, just as yummy, but with a little more Southern flair (including pickled beets to die for). We saw members of the family who we have not seen in quite some time, and were able to spend some time with Jarrett's grandparents, which was the real goal of this trip. Elsa had fun discovering a treasure trove of Duplos, as well as running around out on the grassy fields with her second cousins.

On Friday morning, before heading down to Charlotte to stay a night with my parents, we made a visit to Grandmom Helms. She is so sweet and always such a delight. She was slightly disappointed, though, that Elsa would not take her up for a ride in her new, fancy electric wheelchair. Maybe next time. We grabbed some lunch with Jarrett's dad, Susan, and Stephen, and then hit the road again.

My mom and I missed our tradition of Black Friday shopping this year. I have to say that I had a hankering for a 5:00 a.m. biscuit from Bojangles and a coffee from Starbucks, braving cooler temperatures and crowds to do some Christmas shopping with my mom, but my memories of years past had to serve me this year. (Heck, I would not have been able to eat the biscuit this year anyway. Who is going to come out with a good gluten-free biscuit in time for next year?) We did however, make it to the movie theater to see Harry Potter. So not all was lost.

We left the next day after having lunch with my parents, and things seemed okay. Elsa fell asleep shortly after merging onto the highway, Merckx seemed settled into his space in the back, and traffic really was not too bad. Until we hit the Georgia border. From there, it was stop and go the rest of the way to Decatur. We were tired and ready to be home, and yet it took us almost twice as long as it usually does from the state line. But despite all the travel, and despite the headaches of packing and repacking and dealing with stalled traffic, we were full of reasons to be thankful for this trip. And because of those reasons, I am sure it will not be our last.