The Giving of Thanks, 2019

This was our second Thanksgiving without our grandfather and mother. The first was the day before our mother's funeral. We planned it the day after she died, went home and watched the Kaminski Method, in which they plan a funeral. 2018 was a weird year that way.

We feel like we've never really gotten the chance to mourn the loss of either our grandfather or mother. Not long after our grandfather died our mother took ill. Even though she was in and out of hospitals and rehab the rest of the year it happened suddenly. A morning phone call, 'You better get up here,' strong words after months of our parents seemingly keeping us in the dark.

We've been too busy worrying about our father, suddenly alone after 55 years, to really take it in.

When we attended services last Friday it was past a year since the death of our mother, and the first time in four years we did not stand for the mourner's Kaddish. We've lost in succession our grandfather's second wife, the college roommate of our mother-in-law who had been a surrogate grandmother to our girls, our grandfather and mother.

Four years.

With Thanksgiving past next Friday begins our oldest daughter's bot Mitzvah. As near as we can tell she's the first Stroock to have one in a century.

She's (almost) 13 in all it's glory.

So this year we're giving thanks for all our blessings and they are many.

Three girls all healthy, happy. 

A wife we've known for 25 years, growing more beautiful with each one; we can't believe we ever worried about that. Herself a successful corporate suit. 

Ourselves, we do what we want for a living the way we want to do it.  We even found a writing gig where they'll take our 800 word musings virtually unchanged. 

We had a near miss heart attack in 2015, gradually improving health since then. We're doing about an hour and a half of cardio four times a week. Maybe we'll talk about the other health problem some day. The more astute of you have already figured it out, it's soooo obvious.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving anyone, becuase I sure got it good.