Thanksgiving week recap

I can't believe that it is almost December. The past week was another tough one for me. My great uncle Charlie passed away, so I spent the day before Thanksgiving at a funeral. I went to see him a few weeks ago and had a really great visit. My Dad and I went back last Sunday, but he was sedated and had been unresponsive all day. But, two of my cousins were there so we had a long visit with them. I feel like I often talk about death on my blog, but I don't mean to, it's just been somewhat of a theme in my life the past two years. In fact, this is the ninth family death to the day in two years. I have to say, though, that Charlie's funeral was probably the most inspiring I have ever been to. The way he lived his life and cared about people was so great to hear. It made me want to try to live my life that way and be compassionate towards everyone. Though it was an extremely tough few days, I know that Charlie is with God and the rest of his brothers who died before him, and that gives me a lot of peace and comfort.

To further the sad things this week, my newest neighbor died and I'm still unsure what happened. We think it may have been something related to her diabetes. Since her death, my other neighbors and I have found out that she really had no true family. All of her things are still in her apartment downstairs and her car is still sitting outside. It's kind of eerie knowing all of this stuff is still here and no one has come around. I know it's been a holiday so I'm sure someone may come soon to sort out her things. I just pray for those that knew her well.

One new thing that happened this year, was my Dad, sister, and Alex delivered meals on Thanksgiving for one of the local churches. We ended up delivering 72 meals to 18 different homes. It was nice to be able to do something for others this year and we enjoyed being together while doing it. Maybe this will become a new family tradition??

The Little Things...

I think it's so easy for everyone (especially including myself) to get wrapped up in all the stuff we have to do. There are a lot of days that I think, "If I can just make it through today." Of course then I think that for the next 5 days until a whole week has passed and I don't even remember what I did. Well lately I've been thinking more about the little things and trying to work on keeping myself in a better mood, which can be hard. It's so easy for me to get sad and not even realize why I feel that way. So, on to the point of this post... my Papa's brother has been very sick for awhile and was in the hospital and is now at a place where he is getting a lot of therapy. I've thought several times that I should go visit and today I decided to do just that. I spent over an hour with Uncle Charlie and it was great. It was tough seeing him not doing too well, and he looks so much like my Papa, which brought back some tough memories of when my Papa was in a similar situation. But, we had a great visit and I really enjoyed getting to talk to him, and at times just sitting and not saying much at all. I am a true believer in family and the fact they are what keep you going. My uncle is a precious man and I'm so glad I went to see him. I hope to see him again very soon, and even though I have missed a lot of times when I could have gone to see him or any other family member... I just try to be thankful for the times that I do get to spend with family... even if it is only a little time. If anyone is reading this, I encourage you to go see someone (friend or family) that you haven't seen in awhile, or call them, you just might make a big difference in their day!