Thanksgiving

We survived managed our first Thanksgiving week as a family of four. I won't lie - it got a little crazy  - but we have much for which to be thankful. I got a bit behind on my "Days of Thanksgiving" facebook postings (you'll see why), so here's a bit of a recap.

Monday: Paul's first Thanksgiving program for family. After a difficult bedtime working through pre-event anxieties, he woke early (no kidding) and then questioned relentlessly was I SURE he was supposed to wear a costume (Indian) to school and did Mrs. Wagner say and when did she say and when did she send the email and could he see the email? I showed him the email. He can't read, yet he seemed reassured. So he put on the costume. (Adorable.) This morning was a bit of an oddity because the kinders weren't supposed to get to school until 8:45 for the 9:00 program. I took Sam to school at 7:45 while Trent followed later with Paul. I love it when Trent drives to school because then he empathizes with the ceaseless questions and direction-giving.

Trent dropped off Paul a bit early (thanks, Mrs. Wagner!), then he, Sam (skipping class) and I snagged seats in the rapidly filling auditorium. This is where I started to cry - watching the room fill with moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles. Based on the crowd, I'm guessing each kinder had 3.5 people to watch, photograph, support and clap for them. Which made me remember again all those children who, like Paul last Thanksgiving, had no one for whom they felt special. We sat next to a mom whose son from Haiti has been home one year - she understood.

Paul marched on stage with the other adorables. (He stood next to a little boy adopted from South Korea and a little girl adopted from Guatemala. A Thanksgiving melting pot.) Then he proceeded to glower at the audience through the entire program. While the other Indians and Pilgrims smiled and clapped and sang, he was clearly the one tasked with ensuring that no one in the audience made a false move toward the stage. Today I'm thankful no one made a false move toward the stage.

He's very clearly thrilled at the post-performance meet-and-greet

Tuesday: Today the Kinders were to perform the Thanksgiving program at chapel, for the other elementary students. Something flipped a switch in Paul. He was Mr. Personality on stage - singing, dancing, tying the fringe on his costume together so he couldn't pull apart his arms, raising his arms to show everyone that he was handcuffed. He just needed a dress rehearsal. And shorter fringe. Today I'm thankful for a teacher who can laugh when her student ties his arms together.

Wednesday: "Mum! No school today? Whatcha gonna do? Grandma's house? School tomorrow? When school? How many days? Show me five. When next day school can I buy lunch? Whatcha gonna eat?" Etcetera. Packing for a trip can get a little bit ... crazy ... when Paul's around. That need for control when feeling out of control goes into overdrive. And my patience isn't at its highest level in such moments. Which makes everything worse. However, he's a GREAT helper, so I made an extensive chore list for everyone. Paul even made his sister's bed, happily and creatively. (Granted, he owed her a chore for whacking her the day before, but nevertheless.)

Grandma's house was "So far. Why so far 'way?" but we passed the time by spotting boats and barns and cows and large painted chickens. Seventeen large painted chickens. We arrived and settled in and then Trent had a special treat for Paul - a trip to the attic to unearth Trent's old toys that Grandma saved for the last thirty years! Included in the loot: a football helmet and pads, Star Wars figures, matchbox cars and Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em robots! Today I'm thankful for large painted chickens and saved-for-thirty-years football pads.

Thursday: So, I was a little bit worried about trying to enforce manners with Paul in an unfamiliar house with lots of people he didn't know very well during a large meal with actual, breakable dishware. Turns out I didn't have to worry. I missed the meal entirely. I spent the day in bed or in the bathroom with a nasty stomach bug. So Paul's manners didn't bother me one bit. (But I'm told they were fine and he had fun talking smack with Uncle Deron.) Today I'm thankful for Carroll Thompson's graciousness  as she prepared and served the entire meal herself while I groaned upstairs. And also for indoor plumbing.

Friday: Ahhh...better. I could contemplate the idea of a saltine cracker and some Sprite. We traveled home and by evening I felt good enough to dress up and go to World Vision The Story Tour for a soaring, inspiring, soul-filling concert. Tell me your story, Show me your wounds, And I'll show you what love sees, When love looks at you. My heart filled at the hope that many of the waiting children would find sponsors who would pray for them, help meet their needs and let them know they're special. After meeting two children we sponsor through World Vision in May, I can personally speak to the amazing work of World Vision not only in individual lives, but in entire communities. We searched pictures for Lesotho kids - perchance there was someone we knew! Paul was clearly touched, too. Midway through the program he leaned over and asked, "Mum! Next school day, I go staff care or carpool?" But the next day he was still processing it because he said, "Mum, yous and daddy makes sure me and Sam got em food and you's take care of us. Some kids need 'em someone give 'em food, too?" Today I am thankful for people who care enough to care.

Saturday: We packed up again and headed to Nana and Papa's for lunch with my side of the family. Paul enjoyed playing legos and riding bikes with his boy cousins while Sam helped the little girls with their dress up dolls. My brother and sister-in-law brought home their girls (now 4 1/2 and 3) from Russia last year, so they understand the "complexity and delicacy" of weaving children from hard places into a family. Today I am grateful for our family and for their amazing support on this parenting journey.

Sunday: The goal today - unpack, do laundry, pay bills, decorate. Screech...rewind. Sam started feeling bad Saturday evening and, sure enough, spent most of the night in the bathroom. And so I spent most of the night in there with her. Because that's what mothers do, apparently. She finally started sleeping around 4 am, so I thought I'd catch a bit of a break, but then Trent came down with it, too. Paul, blessedly, did not. So I was left to contemplate which is the worser of parenting options: a sick kid or a healthy, energetic and super-clingy-after-such-a-crazy-week kid with sick and tired parents. After 24 hours of Paul being the only healthy and well-rested member of the family, I'm thinking the latter. But fortunately a friend's mom arranged a playdate, so he had a fun couple of hours playing and I had a chance to go to the store for more apple juice, Sprite and crackers. Today I am thankful for friends who have opened their hearts and their homes to our sweet boy.