by Ashley
This Thanksgiving will likely be tough. It will be my first holiday without the girls.
Speaking objectively, I’m going to be fine. I’ll celebrate our Thanksgiving together a day early or a day late. I’ve been invited to a friends for a Thanksgiving meal on the actual day so I’ll have some distraction and some good food and good company. It will be fine.
But also…it will be hard.
While I was at Ragnar, I was talking with a teammate about the upcoming holiday. As part of the context of the Thanksgiving holiday, I mentioned how I don’t own an actual table anymore. I left it when I moved, so I only have 2 barstools that sit at our kitchen island. For our Thanksgiving (as with every other meal together), the girls sit at the island to eat and I typically just stand. It’s not ideal, but I don’t want to invest in a table right now so it is what it is.
One of my teammates, sadly, is soon moving out-of-town soon. Her husband took a great job opportunity over the summer and they’ve been living apart since then, but it came to a point where she decided she needed to join him. They’ve bought a new house and have started furnishing it with new items. She mentioned that she was planning to leave her table behind, being that they just bought a new one.
A few days after the race, I texted her about the table. Whether it was still available and what it looked like.
She sent me a picture of a similar item, saying it was like this but hers was dark brown:
Not big, but it’s all the girls and I would need. And it’s compact enough that I think I could transport it in my SUV.
I asked ow much she wanted for it and she said “Nothing – you’d be doing me a favor by taking it away!”
We’ve arranged for me to go pick it up one night after work this week. I’m not expecting anything super fancy, I know it’s been used. But getting a real table where we could all sit down to eat together again would be a real blessing. Especially for free. And right before Thanksgiving! Talk about perfect timing!
It’s been a tough year. I’m counting my blessings wherever I find them. I’m thankful for the Thanksgiving table, and am looking forward to celebrating the holiday together around our NEW table in a week and a half!
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
What a great piece of luck!
What a great piece of luck!
Your girls will be thrilled to be able to sit with you at meals. The first will be the worse but each time will be better. Enjoy that meals with your girls.
Firsts are always tough I think. Maybe you guys could do some thanksgiving activities leading up to the day so that you can still enjoy parts of it with them. For example, I know one activity I plan doing with son is a thankful turkey. I know your girls are a bit older but I think it still works.
https://busytoddler.com/2016/11/teaching-toddlers-to-be-thankful/
Thanks for the link, I love this idea! We did something similar a few years back (but did a thankful tree – I glued pieces of leaf-shaped paper to tree clippings from the yard!)
I could see this working with my older kids now, though, by having them take more control of the creative process. Instead of me cutting out all the turkey feathers, they could do it. Instead of them dictating what they’re thankful for and me writing it, they could write it themselves (with my help on spelling, as needed). Thanks!
That’s great. Isn’t it amazing how a small act of kindness on one person’s part can be such a huge blessing to another?
You are doing a great job, and overcoming a ton of adversity. Better times await! Keep up the good fight.
Nice! Now you can sell your current table and get some extra $$$.
I don’t have a table. The kitchen at my rental has an island and the kids eat there (sitting at barstools). I left the table when I moved out so it now belongs to my ex.
oh sorry…thats depressing.