Thanksgiving 2007.

Here are three of my favorite girls. Kara. Amber. Maggie. It's hard to believe this was a year ago. Can you believe everything that's happened over the course of a year?

Thankfulista

Mother on the left, her life-long friend
Darlene Boyd, Lily Noble and Darlene's mother.

The house on 14th Street in Lawton, Okla. where we grew up.

I'm thankful that I was able to spent time with the people with whom I wanted to spend time...my family. We spend so much of our lives at work, we develop pseudo-families than we spend more time with than our actual blood relatives.

As we observe every year, we gathered at my sister Molly's house in Hurst, Texas. One of my favorite things to do is cook Thanksgiving dinner with her. She's been my big sister for 46 years and my best friend for as many years. Working with her in the kitchen is effortless.

I'm especially thankful that I was able to travel to Oklahoma for my father's 80th birthday last weekend. My dad is in the later stages of Alzheimer's and doesn't remember that he's married to my mother; they will celebrate their 60th anniversary in April '09. He also does not remember that from that union he has three daughters, a son, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. But somehow that's okay; he still seems to enjoy our company.

I'm thankful that he was a photo buff and took loads of pictures of my sisters and me - so I can remember for the both of us.

Movie Night

My daughter and I go to the 5o cent movie every Tuesday. It's become a fun tradition; a treat which I enjoy, not only because it's cheap, but I love movies, popcorn, and my daughter.

With the 50 cent movie, you never know what you're going to get. Our criteria is strict: it has to start between 4:40 and 5:20pm.

This week we saw Burn After Reading. I wish the screenwriter had saved us the time and Burned After Writing.

Shred of Evidence

Spoken words linger in my mind
Unspoken words hesitate at tip of my tongue
Regret of shredded words live in my heart
Never to be heard again.
Unless by fate there was a magic memory stick
Tucked away somewhere. Forgotten.
With words in tact.