thanks meets reminiscence.

body of Julie: "excuse me, but why are we lying down? it's definitely not time to sleep yet, and i am not done bein' awake and alive!!"

mind of Julie: "come on - you frustrate me when you can't just take a nap!! i see the big picture, and i know you'll be working through the night - i know what you need, and i just wish, for your sake, that you'd listen."

body of Christ: "what?? this timing is wacked out. Are you kidding me? i'm not going to be doing that now, thank you. maybe later, when i'm ready. you have definitely got this one wrong."

mind of Christ: "how i wish you could see what i see. i know what you need, and i only want what's wonderful for you. if you could only listen... how much better off you'd be."

don't worry, i realize that's cheezy, but it's exactly what i was thinking as i tried to nap for about an hour and a half. i just gave up. [[how much better He knows us that we even know ourselves.]]

...

i have loved this thanksgiving!

the slight snow was beautiful and charming, and the company was grand. i got to cook, and i got to eat, and i got to watch the Cowboys win. 

i have not been moping at all, though i have been missing. 

of course i wish i could be with my amazing mom and her whole loud, ridiculous Itailan and Swedish side of the family, especially after my grandmother's recent passing.

and i wish i could be with my dad, for all his quirks and tendencies that completely overwhelm me, and with HIS grandmother, who is 99 years old today.

i wish i could be with Josh and his mother Peggy, because they make me smile so much.

i wish i could be with Jena, and Jenny, because they have proved themselves beyond fair weather - they are true friends in the face of triumph or gloom.

i wish i could be in Texas, where it is not currently raining and thirtyish degrees. 

i wish i could be with you!

but how thankful i am to be where i have been placed. how thankful i am to work with what i have been given, and how wonderful it is to be thought of and secure in who i truly am. 

it is a good thanksgiving, and though i may spend some of it alone, i need not be lonely, for i have been loved.