Thanksgiving 2009

After my plans for celebrating Thanksgiving with my friend Anne fell through just four days before the holiday, I feared that I would be preparing a feast for one. However, things worked themselves out and I ended up hosting a gathering in my apartment. Three of the girls in my small group came over to watch the Macy's parade and enjoy a potluck meal. We cheated on a few items (pre-made mashed potatoes, stuffing from a box, and gravy from a jar), but still enjoyed a full spread.

We decided to see a matinee showing of The Blind Side. It was a terrific movie based on a true story and was an extremely fitting movie for the holiday. I highly recommend it.

As usual, it was hard being away from family for the holiday, but I enjoyed spending time with my church family (well, part of it at least). The four of us also attended/crashed a gathering last night to kick off the Christmas season. It was a "classic" party where we dressed to the nines and watched a classic Christmas movie (Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum). I absolutely love getting dressed up and meeting new people, so this event screamed AJ. It was a lot fun, and I hope to see some of those new faces again. Spending time with people from church is a refreshing change from hanging out with kickball acquaintances.

This week I have tickets to see the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. I won "the lottery" in order to get tickets to this event, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing comes up at work while I'm holding the office myself...otherwise, I won't be able to attend. We may not be able to see the stage with performers, but I'm excited for the opportunity to witness this occasion.

I've started counting down the days to my trip back to the Midwest for Christmas. I'm hoping to see all of you then!

xoxo,

~amyjo

Approaching Holiday Season

I am proud to say that I have, in fact, purchased a few Christmas gifts already. With Christmas Day still well over one month away, this is quite an accomplishment for me. I like to live one step at a time, so I'm still on a timeline to be gearing up for Thanksgiving.

This Thanksgiving, I fear, will be a tough holiday. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with the people who had become part of my DC family. Included in that group was my current roommate Cat, "former roommate" Jenny, and Jenny's mom Laurie. We borrowed a friend's home for the day and made a traditional Thanksgiving feast for 40, though there were only 6 of us around the table. It was a truly memorable occasion. I am so thankful for the beautiful pictures we have from that day.

As many of you may already know, my dear friend Jenny went home to the Lord after a long battle with cancer. She was a wonderful person who will be missed by many during this holiday season. Cooking was always something Jenny found joy in and we had so much fun last November. It was great recalling that memory with a handful of people at Jenny's funeral services. Apparently she had already shared that story with those dear to her. I'm honored to know that she cherished that day as much I do.

Cat will be traveling to Colorado to celebrate Thanksgiving with her immediate family. Father Abraham (as I like to call him) paid for half of her flight home so she was able to fly back on some of the most expensive flight days of the year. I did a quick search today to see what a ticket to Omaha would be...the cheapest was $610 with 1 stop each way, while a non-stop ticket was $1,500. Yep. That's right! One thousand five hundred dollars for the long-weekend, round-trip fare. I could hardly believe it myself. I'm sure you can understand why I won't be making a cameo appearance in the Midwest for some turkey and mashed potatoes.

I'm still uncertain as to where I will be spending the holiday, but I am hopeful that my plans will work themselves out before the big day arrives.

Promotions

I apologize in advance for the obscure connection I've made and will share with you below. Yesterday after receiving sad news about a dear friend and wanting to journal about it here, I realized that I had not yet blogged about the review at work I had almost two weeks ago.

Subject 1: The Good

My review at work was a delayed one-year review. My boss was full of positive feedback and said she felt like I've learned and grown a lot while working for her. I was a bit taken back by what she was saying as I've been feeling busy, yet overwhelmingly unchallenged at work as of late. Luckily for me, my boss agreed that my time has come for more substantial responsibilities in the office. She said we would work together on coming up with a few issues that would be just mine and that she would begin delegating more of her responsibilities (but just a little at a time!) to my co-worker and me.

Because she felt I've done well with everything that's been given to me and is expecting bigger and better things to come, I also received a substantial pay increase. Hooray for a raise!!! But in all seriousness, I am equally excited about more challenging work and a bigger paycheck. Although my official title remains the same, I consider this to be a promotion. For that, I am very thankful.

Subject 2: The Bad

Yesterday's sad news is about my friend Jenny who has been battling her second fight against cancer since the beginning of this year. Although she's had surgery and endured countless variations of chemotherapy, the disease has gotten the best of an amazing girl. Her dad called us last night to let us know that Jenny had been admitted to the hospital after having trouble breathing. Testing results revealed that her right lung is no longer functioning and it would only be a matter of time before she would be unable to continue breathing on her own. Jenny's made it very clear that she does not want to placed on any means of life support, so she's currently on hospice care until our Father calls her to heaven.

My thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Jenny, her family, and all of the people who hold her dear in their hearts. We all know that's she fought the good fight and will understand when it's her time to be released from this world of constant battle. Jenny deserves her promotion to a better life, and we will celebrate all of the blessings she's provided in our lives.

Although you may struggle with the connection I've made between these two subjects, please understand that it makes sense to me. This week's message at my church was to remember to keep the big picture in mind - to not let Satan draw your attention away from God's purpose for you. Jenny has fulfilled her purpose and is being called home, but I'm still seeking where to join God's work. Until his plan is revealed for me, I will continue to focus on my blessings. And I challenge each one of you to stay focused on the big picture and remember to count your blessings.