Hosting our First Thanksgiving

There were no Pilgrims, and not really any Indians.  We did however have a collective 37.5% Native American representation and a couple Canadians.  Aimee’s parents made the drive from Munster, Indiana on Tuesday to be with us for Thanksgiving and visit our home in Atlanta.  Aimee’s co-fellow Daniela and Matt (and their little boy Noah) accepted our invitation to join us for an “American Thanksgiving” so we ended up with 7 for dinner. There are a few pictures inline below; the Picasa album pictures start here.

Aimee and I are thankful for many, many things.
I think a blog post is great place to mention a few of those…..

We both got to have at least 4 days off from work.  We are thankful for that time away, but even more thankful for meaningful employment that we both often take for granted.  On a specific note, Aimee officially passed her Neurology board exam.  Everyone is so proud of her!  She is officially a board-certified Neurologist. 

We are thankful for our parish here, Immaculate Heart of Mary. Through their welcoming arm and open-minded music ministry, we have a place to not only be better musicians, but also “give to God” what is truly God’s. We got to be part of the Thanksgiving Day liturgy where we celebrated not only Thanksgiving but El Dia de Acción de Gracias.  Through a beautifully celebrated bilingual mass, we realized how thankful we are for a faith that is universal in language and creed and culture.  (We are also thankful for Michael and Jeff’s willingness to participate in our test turkey dinner and to not scoff at our tater tots).

We are thankful for parents who make sacrifices of time to be with us and who care enough to be part of our traditions and lives and impart their own nuggets of wisdom.  It was such a blessing to have Aimee’s parents with us for several relaxing days in Atlanta.  We are thankful for co-workers who make day-to-day life tolerable, edifying, and supportive. Sharing this US holiday with Matt, Daniela, and Noah was especially gratifying.  Crowley may or may not agree on that last point.

We are thankful for Notre Dame, for once on an even playing field, putting together an offense and defense to beat USC!  A consequential object of gratitude is for warranties.  Evidently the ND-USC showdown was not of sufficient gravity so as to warrant its broadcast in the Atlanta market. (I’m shocked).  I sprang into action, connecting Aimee’s laptop to the TV and pulling up the ESPN3 live broadcast of the game over the internet.  After three hours of overheating, the laptop simply breathed its last.  I may know my way around a computer but fried circuitry is not my bag.  So while sad that she’s without her laptop, I’m immensely grateful for the Product Protection Plan we purchased 2 years ago.  I don’t have extremely high expectations for the Nerd Herd boys but I expect we’ll be getting our money’s worth. 

On Sunday we purchased our first “real” Christmas Tree.  Coming in at a towering 5’ 6”, it is decorated and filling our home with the smell of Christmas.

Lastly, we are thankful in advance for our upcoming weekend in Chicago!!!  Deck the Hall, hanging out with friends, massages, dinners, wine, music, brunch….all good stuff!

* For those of you still hung up on the first comment, Aimee’s maternal side has a somewhat sizeable amount of Cherokee Native American in the lineage.  I did some estimating, and that’s where the 37.5% comes from.