With a Thankful Heart

I craned my neck to glance at our half-moon window, which was still dingy from what most certainly had to be several months worth of grime. Somehow in all the excitement we had not cleaned the windows. Oh, well. That wasn't the top thing on the "to-do" list, I guess. Family was more important than that. Lights shown brightly all around. The fireplace glowed and spewed out warmth. There were groups of people scattered here and there, talking animatedly. Their conversations were punctuated with occasional loud laughs. Children ran around in gleeful abandon, shouting to each other as they raced from room to room. In their wake, toys filled every corner of the house. Kitchen tables groaned with the weight of half-consumed delicious dishes, which had, as usual, taken hours to prepare. I looked around the "Great Room", as the living room is called. Things were looking pretty good there. Only on the outskirts of the perimeter did I notice that though some interior walls were painted, others were still in the "mudding" stage. A few doors were not in yet, and over one doorway a simple sheet was hung. There was more work to be done, but we had set aside the work for this day. But the fact that the cabin wasn't completely finished didn't bother me. We were together. We were family. We had come to this place to fellowship with each other. We ate and laughed and talked and sang and played instruments together. We ate some more, then some more. We joked about the old days and teased each other. Jonathan was still the comedian, Matthew the dry-humor guy. They both had fun goofing off with the table decorations. Sharon could still remember the street names of churches we had been to years ago. Joanna made an awesome decorator, as usual, and Monica and I kept watch in the kitchen. The years had passed, but we had our memories and each other. Dad had built this place with his own hands (and with some help from friends across the country), and Mom was there at the heart of things, taking care of each of us with her loving concern. Their great love for us had made this place possible and was the reason we were here today. It was a with a glad heart that I looked around on each family member and was truly thankful. *You can check out the gallery for pictures!