Guest AuthorThe day typically starts with the boy, 1-and-a-half, waking up too early. He’s tired, he’s fussy, and if I don’t get Elmo and his friends on “Sesame Street” on the TV fast, things will go downhill.
If we’re lucky, his 3-year-old sister, who is a late sleeper like her mother, will get up on her own and be in a good mood.
The day ends with a glimmer of hope that more food doesn’t end up on the floor than is on the table. The cat has gastrointestinal issues, and when the boy throws his food… well, you get the idea.
Tubby time, and then the boy is asleep shortly after. The girl has been staying up later and later, though we’re working on it.
Raising children is difficult, any parent will tell you. I’d be lying if I said that on the harder days I didn’t glance out the window to the old Subaru and think, I bet it could make it to Mexico, sure, why not?
But those are fleeting, passing moments in a world filled with love, joy, happiness, and rich experiences I wouldn’t trade for the world. I love it when my boy sits with me to play with Play-Doh. I love it when my daughter looks at a book in a chair, quietly reading to herself — because she loves books. I love it when they run around the yard, playing, yelling, having fun.
Don’t worry: this is not a parenting is tough column. We’ve been bombarded with enough of those lately.
This is about family, about my family, for which I am thankful. I love Thanksgiving. We usually go see my parents, my brother’s family, my sister in Little Rock, and we will again this year. I’m looking forward to getting away from politics and back home with the kids.
For me, Thanksgiving is such a great holiday — my favorite — because it represents a certain tension. Not tension with the family — but a sort of global tension.
There is so much in my life for which to be truly thankful. I have a great job, I work with great people, have tremendously caring friends, and a support network that seems to know no bounds. Of course, there is the wonderful family.
But around the world — and here at home — tragedies strike all the time. Thanksgiving is a time to remember those people, too.
In the Philippines, there are more than 4,000 dead, and many thousands more injured and displaced after an exceptionally powerful typhoon hit the country. The USS George Washington, an American aircraft carrier, is in the area with her support ships to provide aid.
When you’re with your families this holiday, take a moment to remember those in our not-so-big global neighborhood who don’t have as much as you.
I’ll wake up tomorrow, and maybe the kids will sleep in, maybe they won’t. I will try desperately to feed them some breakfast, then fuss about what they wear. Struggle putting their lunches together, work to get jackets on them, ease them toward the door and away from Elmo.
And I will hug them and say, thank you.
If you’d like to help the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, here are some helpful links:
