Thanksgiving 2009

So last year at Thanksgiving, I mentioned to Travis, us driving to Idaho to celebrate with my parents. He surprisingly agreed! I was so excited! My parents live about an hour from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Once you drive about 7 hours and then get off the main highway, it's literally 13 miles of winding road. But . . . beautiful winding road! Not to forget that by this time, it was sunset, and there were so many beautiful sunset scenes! I'll never forget Travis driving that 13 miles with Cole in the seat behind him. Both of them with their windows down and looking all about at the perfect hunting grounds! I had to remind Travis a few times that he was driving, cause his rubber-necking would make us swerve at times! It was cute! He shoulda just had me drive so he could sight see while I drove!
So we stayed at my parents' house for a few days, enjoying the peace and quiet of a secluded-like town, not much cell phone service, good food and lots of game playing! My parents had taught us not long previously how to play a card game called "Hand and Foot". You need six decks of cards, and it's what we played most of the weekend we were there.
If you go back and look at my plog page titled "The Warning Signs", it will tell you the situation that Travis experienced while we were there. This year, it crossed my mind to go back to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving, but I knew because of last year's situation, I wouldn't be able to do that. It would have made for a sad holiday rather than a peaceful, enjoyable one.
So . . . Travis' brother, Chuck, and his sweet girlfriend, Susan, invited us over to their house for Thanksgiving breakfast. We drove out there for hotcakes, eggs, bacon, sausage . . . and family visiting. It was nice. Even squeezed a few games of Apples to Apples in there!
I noticed lately, that when we go places as a family, it's so much like the current book I'm reading describes. When you lose someone like we did, it's nothing like a big gash on your arm or a large injury. It's literally like walking around with an amputation. It's not just a big hurt. It is GONE. There is a huge space in our family that we know won't ever be replaced.
Around noon, the kids and I all climbed back into Travis' (soon to be Cole's) big white and headed to the Lagerwey home for lunch/dinner. As we were all in the truck and visiting a bit with the radio on, I heard a song begin. I slightly recalled what song I thought it was and turned the volume up. It happened to be Trace Adkins' "All I Ask For Anymore". Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkJA1rL_Ga8 *You have to copy and paste it into the address bar.
I know Travis was talking to his family at that moment! I'm so thankful for that!
We arrived at the Lagerwey's around 1:00 to hugs and smiles. It's been a very rough 6 weeks or so for Suzanne who has recently lost her mother even since Travis' passing. Not to mention, Curt's father is losing his own fight with cancer. Dear, sweet Suzanne still insisted on making Thanksgiving dinner (dinner for us. It was lunch for them!) for our two families! Cole was asked to do the honors of carving the turkey, and then we enjoyed each other's company for the next couple of hours. Funny thing is . . . when Travis was here, the only time we ever really got our families together was at a Mexican restaurant for dinners. Their daughter, Sarah, and Abby are good friends and get together a lot, and Cole and their son, Michael, do things together sometimes, but the two entire families meeting up rarely happened. I am thankful for this day that we shared! I ask daily for the Lord to bless the Lagerwey family for all the trials they are currently going through.
After the kids and I got home, I had decided previously to give them a group Christmas present. There are a couple of reasons for this. 1) Last year, we got the family a Wii for Christmas, and Travis convinced me to let them have it on Thanksgiving. He could NOT hold secrets like presents for long! So this year, I thought it fitting to give them their present that went with the Wii (Mario Kart with the steeringwheels) 2) It was a perfect family time activity for the five of us to enjoy each others company and have fun for the evening! And we did. :)

Throughout our marriage, it was always my idea that November is Thanksgiving and December is Christmas. I would refuse to put Christmas decorations up until December 1st. Travis bugged me each year to do it sooner, but not until the past maybe five years did I relent. So . . for the past few years, it's always been the day after Thanksgiving for the Christmas decorations to go up. In fact, last year, Travis surprised me and got into the decorating also (He never helped. Never even touched one decoration. Just enjoyed them being there!). Travis got a ladder and ended up down by our pond putting lights on the trees, along our front fence, wherever he felt he could string them! It was cute!
This year, I just couldn't find the "want" or the energy to do the decorations the day after Thanksgiving. I do want to put them up, but I'm just not in the hurry to celebrate Christmas without Travis. He had finally gotten into being part of it all! But I feel we need to eventually decorate like he would have. And when we do, it will be only because of him. (well .. and I do have a 9 year old!)