So Thanksgiving turned out to be very special

This is me, Thanksgiving evening, at the home of friends, realizing that the guy in the doorway is my son, who suprised me by flying home all the way from Providence, RI.






This is me greeting said son.








And this is me with my three kids, who are actually young adults. Wonderful young adults.




My daughter and oldest son cooked this scheme up back in September and they were so good at keeping secrets and (dare we say?) lying about stuff. I was completely bamboozled, and thought that my son was spending Thanksgiving dinner in NYC with the ex who was there on business. But about 30 minutes after arriving at our dear friends' house, who we've spent almost every Thanksgiving with for the past 26 years, my daughter's pager went off, and she told me, "I've got to get to the hospital. The cystic fibrosis patient I've been following is about to go to surgery for a lung transplant and I promised I would see her before she went into the OR." She said she would be back in about an hour and we all bid her adieu. What actually happened is that youngest son had called her beeper and triggered it, setting everything in motion. So an hour later, I was absolutely floored when the door opened and it was my daughter and oldest son! Everyone was very good about keeping mum about it.

And we had a wonderful weekend together. Lots of food, laughter and teasing. Went to downtown Seattle Saturday for the annual ritual of looking at the lights, the gingerbread houses and the decorated trees. Only thing missing was the trip to Nordstorm's Santa, which all except me objected to. So I contented myself with taking their picture in front of a Nordstrom's holiday window.



It was absolutely grand.

I hope all of you had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did. I am so blessed.