By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
Heather Cathleen Cox
My Thanksgiving didn’t resemble the kind that Hollywood glamorizes, with 40 of my closest blood relatives sitting huddled around a big table, swapping stories and eating turkey until someone passes out on the really expensive sofa, but to me, this was probably the best – and simplest – Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. And not just because it started with me drinking coffee.
I woke up feeling healthy and rested and shared a long discussion about life, love and ambitions with my amazing father, over coffee. Then, we did something my family had never before done. We went to a restaurant to eat lunch, instead of cooking the big traditional Thanksgiving feast at home.
I don’t even like the staple holiday foods like pumpkin pie, candied yams or stuffing. I usually just eat a whopping plate of mashed potatoes and a roll, then go out to an all night diner with my BFF, so it was actually a pleasant surprise to be able to order whatever my heart desired, while my father and uncle (two great men) enjoyed their turkey and ham with all the trimmings. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world any time I get to sit between these two at a restaurant, because they are men of such integrity.
I had been a little unsure of how it would feel to venture off our usual tradition because our lives have changed so drastically since the deaths of my mother and maternal grandmother last year. So even though we had an early lunch, with just the three of us, we had a great time laughing and enjoying what we have, without worrying about what we lack. As an aside, it was nice to sip on a bottomless glass of iced tea which I didn’t have to brew or refill.
I randomly saw one of my closest friends, Rhonda, who was lunching at the same restaurant, so I was able to greet and hug her family. My dad had to work at 2 p.m., so he and I spent a few minutes together after we arrived back home, and as he left to work, I left to pick up my best friend Stacy who is only in town for a few more days.
Stacy and I have this tradition of going to I-Hop or Denny’s on holidays because she feels the same way about traditional Thanksgiving food as do I, plus not much else is open. We adore fellowshipping with our families and often make the rounds to each other’s homes – whenever meal times do not coincide. So it was nice for Stacy to enjoy a juicy cheeseburger at Denny’s while I drank some more coffee. We also had a great conversation.
As I was dropping Stacy off for her family dinner, my beautiful friend Nannette called. Her Thanksgiving luncheon with a sweet mutual friend had ended, so we commenced our preconceived plans to go to the beach. It was a lovely day for a drive, and we stopped twice: first, to read from a lovely devotional book about the Lord’s grace and to remember why we were thankful; next, we stopped at a park in Port Isabel to pray and thank God for blessing my friend Nannette with life and another successful year of being a single woman in business for herself.
Later that night, Nannette and I enjoyed a delicious picnic of assorted cheeses and gourmet crackers that Nannette had packed, and we bumped into Rhonda on the beach. She was with a friend who I had been wanting to meet. Later, Stacy joined Nannette and I for a gorgeous night of laughs and great stories underneath the sparkling stars, in front of the beautiful bay.
I awoke Friday morning to the backdrop of waves crashing. Well, not literally, but when I left the hotel I could see the water and feel the salt air. There is no feeling like witnessing a pink dawn cascade across a cloud-speckled sky. I had to stop in wonderment and awe of just how cool God is.
Nannette and I were all giggles and laughs as we packed up our stuff and enjoyed a breakfast of delicious Belgium waffles, blueberry yogurt and of course, I had coffee. Two cups. On the drive back, she and I had the most gorgeous conversation about the Lord and the possibilities held in our futures. As I walked into work Friday morning, I felt so blessed to have such a great relationship with my God, my God-given family and my family-by-choice.
My friend Stacy is not only my best friend, but we constantly thank the Lord for making us sisters, because neither of us had a sister. In jest, we both tell each other: “You’re stuck with me,” like it’s a punishment. I am also thankful for Stacy’s family, my extended family, who I got to spend time with over the holiday.
Rhonda always tells me I’m like the sister she never had. Nannette says I’m the daughter she never had. With two grandfathers, one grandmother, an aunt and my own mother in heaven with the Lord, the Lord knew that I would need these women in my life. I really believe that they are my family, and I will always treasure them as such.
I’m blessed to have a terrific dad who is also one of my best friends. He is my family, with my uncle and my beautiful adopted grandmother Dottie who lives in Tyler. My grandfather (yes, that makes the count of grandfathers up to three) lives close by, and I was privileged to sing happy birthday to him on Wednesday. My living grandmother is visiting my aunt in Dallas for the holiday, but I’ll get to see her when she gets back next Tuesday. That lady raised me and taught me about Jesus, and I’m blessed to have a dazzling friendship with her, in addition to our granddaughter-grandmother relationship.
Stacy and I went to lunch today, and I know I’ll be able to talk more with the rest of these wonderful people throughout the day and weekend because they are real, true friends. They are family.
I am immensely blessed to have so many treasures in my life. Though I drive a dependable car and have a roof over my head, and for that I am truly grateful, I’m not counting my possessions as treasures. My treasures are found in relationships such as these, with the people who matter most, with the ones who are there for me no matter what.
I haven’t listed everyone dear to me, nor have I done justice to those mentioned, because it would be impossible to list everyone I love and all the reasons why. But to get to share my holiday with so many different people, doing so many different things I love, makes it so obvious that God is blessing me with the desires of my heart and unmerited, abundant favor.
It’s been said: Lust is easy; love is hard; like is most important. It is my genuine hope that everyone reading this has friends and family that they love and like with all their hearts and being. When it comes to loving those dear to you, stretch your arms as wide as they will go, receive people into your heart who weren’t necessarily born into your family, cherish each person in the sincerest way you know, and thank the Lord. Even when you don’t feel like it. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A person that hath friends must shew themselves friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
I love having a family full of real friendships and friends that feel more like family. I deeply love and like these people, and I wouldn’t trade my unique little Thanksgiving story for the picturesque or “traditional” Thanksgiving story any day because it’s mine. And it’s real. I only anticipate greatly the day I get to share it with a family of my own.
Read this story in the Nov. 25 edition of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our E-Edition by clicking here.
Recent Comments