November? Really?!

Well! October certainly flew by for me.  We had a wonderful visit with daughter and family. I have multiple photos to prove it. We are looking forward to having everyone together again for Thanksgiving here in Oklahoma. It's Kahlan's first everything, so it's automatically special. There is always a certain decision making process involved with the holiday planning for us. We own two houses- one in Oklahoma and one in Kansas. On a side note, when I say,"own", I actually mean it! We paid off the Oklahoma house last month!! Yippee!
Back to holidays- because we have two places in two states, there is a bit of figuring, plotting, and planing to be made. AND- since we've had a marriage, there is also another entire family to negotiate with as well. We have always done Thanksgiving at the home in Kansas, until last year, when half of us went to the 'other side' for that holiday. We had a very nice day here in Oklahoma, and are going to repeat the process this year- with the exception of having more help in the kitchen!
Happily, my Mom has two options for Thanksgiving that don't involve her riding in a car for a 7 hour round trip. I brought her down once for our Christmas show, and while I think she enjoyed the show, the trip was tiring, and being some place besides her home was difficult for her. I'm really thankful that there are other things she can participate in that don't involve her leaving her home. She has begun to live in a kind of alternate reality, I think. She has sort of rewound the clock to a time when all her loved ones were still alive. That works out fine for her, until I show up with a grandbaby! Then she has some confusion when she actually thinks about it. It's really tough to explain, because she has always sort of ignored things that are painful for her, so this behavior isn't new- and not really related to age, etc. It's a self-preservation thing I believe. I know that Christmas and their anniversary will be difficult for her, if she allows herself to recognize it. Time will tell how that works out.
In the meantime, I am helping with some costumes for Opera Scenes, and taking photos for promotions for the School of Music this week. We are heading into a season of concerts, etc. and lots of excitement. Among all this, I get to celebrate with a new Grandbaby! We have so much to be thankful for!