Thanksgiving

Jess: As some of you may know, last weekend was Thanksgiving. My mom and stepdad, Chris, came to spend the holiday week with us, and we had a wonderful time together. Most importantly, they helped us put our baseboards in. We could have lived without the company (just kidding, Mom!). But seriously, we really, really appreciated their help with that, and I think we’re done with home improvement for awhile. And our house looks soooo much better than when we moved in. I hope whoever is the pastor after it’s our time to leave likes color, wood floor, patios, fires, and a beautifully tiled floor!

The rest of Thanksgiving week was spent mostly just hanging out. Last year, we had Wes’ brother and sister, as well as our friends Tim and Brittany, over for Thanksgiving. Somewhere in there, Kevin came to visit us and Heather stopped by for the night. I think both of us really enjoyed having a large group at the house (for a short time), but that just wasn’t in the cards this year. I think it was wonderful in the whole mess of life right now to have a low-key hosting situation. I only had to cook for four people, I only had one guest room to prepare, and we got to spend a lot of time playing Wii.

I’m well enough off as far as school goes that I was able to just take the week off and hang out. I didn’t have to work at all for the Vesseys, and they even gave me Monday off, too. What a wonderful time to just relax. I spent most of fall break working on the house, my homework, and field education stuff. I had completely forgotten what it’s like to just spend time doing what I want to do. What a wonderful blessing for me to receive this week.

I think my favorite part of when Mom comes is having someone who can keep up with about 10 conversations at once with me. Don’t get me wrong, Wes and I can carry on quite a few conversations at once, too. But there’s just nothing like getting together and talking with Mom. We drove Chris completely crazy—he had to just tune us out. It’s like we haven’t talked in years, even though we talk at least once a week for at least an hour. That’s real mother-daughter bonding right there. Gilmore Girls style.

Perhaps most importantly, I got Chris addicted to Mario Kart Wii. He’s pretty good—I actually had to try to beat him. I’m excited to have us all get back together at Christmas, especially since Josiah will be here. Which reminds me, what the heck? Thanksgiving and Christmas are super close together. We’re going to see Mom and Chris again in just 3 weeks, and Josiah flies in next Saturday! I’m super excited, but it’s weird not to have anyone visit from the end of August to the end of November, and now we’re having visitors 5 out of 8 weeks. I love visitors!!!

Wes and I also got some much-needed time together this week. We do our best to hang out whenever we can, and we have great times together, but the time constraints between two school schedules, two work schedules, and working at two different churches is very limiting. Not having school and work for awhile was wonderful. I’m looking forward to our Christmas break and anniversary celebration. It’s nice to have time where we’re not talking about the next day, working out our schedules, etc. It’s nice to just…be.

Wes: So, my Thanksgiving was good, but my Thanksgiving break was not the most fun I've ever had. On Tuesday of break, I got a call from my mom telling me that my Aunt Florene had passed away. About six weeks ago, she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Now, I'm just knowledgeable enough about this kind of stuff to get myself in trouble. I don't know near as much as I should for someone who has lost a loved one to it. What I do know from what other people have told me, though, is that it is a quick killer, and that unless by sheer luck they manage to catch it early, there's not much that can be done to cure or combat it. 

So in about six weeks' time, Aunt Florene went from being seemingly healthy to breathing her last. It really, really sucks. 

So it's been pretty hard on me, not being able to be there for her and for the family. I went to Texas a month or so ago for the Young Adult Ministries Summit, and was hoping that I would be able to see her while I was there. Unfortunately, she was not doing too well the only day that I had free, and I was unable to see her. 

I had to give the sermon at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday, and I almost broke down crying during it because I was talking about how even in the midst of heartache and loss we still have reasons to rejoice. I firmly believe this to be true, but man, it hurts sometimes. Like a lot. 

I've never felt more homesick while being up here in Jersey than I felt last week. I flew down Friday night for the funeral. I got in at midnight, got to the house at about 3 am, went to the funeral at 10 am, and was back at the airport by 3 pm. It was a whirlwind trip, and I wish I would have had more time to spend with my family. 

This Thanksgiving, I am extra thankful for my family that has supported me and loved me through everything I have done and strived to do. I am especially thankful for my Aunt Florene who was like another grandparent to me and always treated me with the utmost love and kindness. I miss her dearly and am waiting for the day that I will be reunited with her and all of the other saints who have gone before me. 

Sorry my part was a little depressing... Maybe next week's will be better. 

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess