Full of Thanks - Week of Nov. 22nd

“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” ~William Faulkner

Cam only attended one day of school this week.  His outpatient eye surgery was on the calendar for Tuesday.  The hospital called indicating his procedure was scheduled for 2pm and we were to arrive at 12:30pm. Most kids and adults would chime in with complaints left and right. Cam, however, was only thinking about his dinner plans for Tuesday evening knowing he wouldn't be allowed to eat a meal until then. His chosen request- chicken pot pie for his post-surgical meal.

Our backyard-
Thanksgiving morning!

Tuesday morning, Jane and her son drove to Middleville where Otto's Turkey Farm resides.  Supporting a local business and picking out how large our fresh turkey needed to be were high priorities. Upon arrival and making our way into the store area, we were asked the turkey size. We love leftovers and requested a 23-25 lb bird. We left with a 24-lb'er!  

After returning home, it wasn't long before we departed for the hospital to meet our timeframes. Cam's eye work to be conducted was for strabismus surgery (also: extraocular muscle surgery, eye muscle surgery, or eye alignment surgery) which is on the extraocular muscles to correct strabismus, the misalignment of the eyes. Dissolving stitches were in place behind his both pupils. Everything went smoothly and the recovery nurses indicated that Cam was one of the most polite teenagers they had ever met. And true to his request, he enjoyed chicken pot pie for dinner that evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, we welcomed Oma and Opa, ready to spend three nights with us. Although Cam was in recovery mode and his eyes looked very red and uncomfortable, he rallied and enjoyed spending time with his grandparents. He and Oma busied themselves making apple pie.

On Thursday, grandpa and grandson gathered all of the ingredients for homemade stuffing.  It is a tradition they started years ago.

While the stuffed turkey baked in the oven, we all watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv and then football games.

When we gathered at the table for our big dinner, Cam said the blessing and each person individually took a turn to say what they were thankful for.  Most everyone said family, good health, good friends and the meal before us. After the feast, we had a break before partaking in Oma and Cam's apple pie ala mode.

The next day we had all decided we could decorate as a group. Chris had readied the tree with built-in lights and Opa carried the ornaments from the storeroom.  It's amazing how much faster everything gets done when so many are pitching in.  We also began the task of Christmas poem creation and determining photos to be displayed on the cards.  Within a few hours, it looked very festive in our home and we treated ourselves to a take-out dinner after all of the hard work.

We were grateful and most thankful for the extra help and extra time spent with Cam grandparents.
It is telling how different generations have expressions that are simply unknown to the younger set.  We were sorting through things when Oma said, "Ok, let's trim the tree!" Cam responded by saying, "Oma, we don't trim the tree, we decorate it!"

Camology Quotes:

After being under anesthesia, hungry, and with sore, itchy eyes, we were surprised to hear Cam's politeness and good manners in full swing at the hospital.  On the drive home, we were talking about the different nurses and the experience of the day.  Cam does have a tendency to think about others and suggested the following:

"Can we do a survey? They were exceptionally nice."