Let the Holidays Begin!

We almost have everyone home for Thanksgiving. Lauren came in yesterday afternoon, but Nathan won't be here. Our friend Dr. Scott will be joining us, which is great because we've been inviting him for years. Now, if only our checks would get here so that we can buy the food! It's kind of crazy-making, wondering where mine is, has it been sent, will it get here in time...

Yesterday's bout with a flu bug had me in bed, but I still put in 11 hours for a client. Don't ever think that working at home as your own boss is easy, or that it means fewer hours. There's no calling in sick, and no one to pick up the slack if you're unable to carry your own weight. Billable hours are hours out of your day. But not to complain, I'm thankful to be working at something that I really enjoy. Hell, I'm thankful to be working at all, especially right now when so many people are out of work and will be sitting down to a Thanksgiving table in their homes from which they'll be expelled as soon as the holidays are over. (Isn't it nice of Fannie Mae to give these people a temporary stay of execution... pfeh!)

Anyway, we're doing an old-fashioned Thanksgiving, the kind we remember from our childhoods. No fancy recipes by Tyler Florence, just the standard, memory-inducing fare. I miss the family of my youth for some reason this year, but I keep reminding myself that we've created the family of our children's youth, and that's pretty darned cool. It's just hard to settle in on the fact that Nettl and I are "the folks" now. In my family, "the folks" were my grandparents.

I'm amazed! You know how every Christmas I gripe about the commercials about buying diamonds? I haven't seen one of those this year. In fact, the Buy! Buy! Buy! ads are conspicuous by their absence, and it's really nice. Maybe this season of tightening the belt is what our country needs to get us back to what the holidays are really about. I have seen a couple of commercials with the ridiculous message to buy someone a car, or two. Yeah, right. Not even giving that a second's breath this year.

I'm feeling much better today! Hell, I feel good enough to put in 16 hours!