New Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving has always been a big deal in my family.  We have always gotten together and this year it is going to be no different....except I won't be there.  Frank has never asked me to spend a holiday with his family...although we have gone to Amy's several times ON Thanksgiving Day because my family was doing theirs on the weekend before or after.  This year Frank's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and we decided to spend Thanksgiving with her in Greenville, SC instead of at the beach with my family.  It was strange for me NOT to be all wrapped up in my humongous family....but it turned out to be such a blessing to sit in on chemo with Ann on Wednesday and share some time with her.  I would have not traded it for anything.  We got there on Tuesday night and sat and talked until late.  Poor Richard had to work on Wednesday.  We got up on Wednesday and took Ann to the hospital.  While she was getting prepped we ran to downtown Greenville so I could hit Mast's General Store.  It is one of my favorite places of all times.  They have barrels of old-fashioned candy in the back.  The wooden floors squeak as you walk over them....it smells like the past.  I love it!  We went back and stayed with Ann through the rest of chemo.  She now knows more than she ever wanted to because I asked a bazillion questions.  After chemo we were all starving.  Frank and I had eaten a muffin at the Chocolate Moose downtown...and it was long gone.  Ann took us to Papas and Beer, a Mexican restaurant.  They make the most delicious guacamole right at your table.  They have a salsa bar....and the food was more than plentiful.  I ate about a third of my burrito.  For supper that night we went to a Japanese Steak House called Myogi's.  The food was again delicious.  I ordered a small meal of shrimp and scallops.  Thursday was a big day and Ann was feeling pretty good so we got up and watched a bit of the Macy's Day Parade, went to Golden Corral for lunch.  This was a bit weird for me....it was my first time to ever eat Thanksgiving in a restaurant.  Obviously it was something a lot of people do.  We went back to Ann's and I took a nap....too much tryptophan for me.  At 4 we headed to the Thanksgiving Auction!  It was so much fun.  Debbie, Ann's good friend, went with us...and it was a blast!  We got up on Friday  morning when Ann went to work and headed to Knoxville to stop in and see Chuck and Sue.  Sue and I watched Hallmark movies while the guys went shooting.  We ate dinner at Keith and Jan's house and then went to the most amazing Christmas lights show at the Smokies field....loved it!  What a great adventure we had.  I missed my family....but made new memories in a different way!  Hope your holiday was just as special!