I am thankful for so many things today, as we all are.  I am thankful for my beautiful baby boy; for enriching my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. For giving me the best year of my life and many more to come. I am thankful for his health and for the health of my family and friends. I am thankful to be spending Thanksgiving with family and friends, and I am thankful that the rest of my family is spending Thanksgiving together in Oregon.  I am thankful for all of the wonderful people who I have in my life. For old friends and new.  

Reflecting on the many things I am thankful for makes me also think of those who are struggling in one way or another.  So many people have lost their jobs, have lost loved ones or are fighting for their own lives and health.  That doesn't make them better or worse, but they may have a different perspective.  I want to recognize a few special little people who, with smiles on their faces, are fighting for their lives.  Their strength is unfathomable and so admirable. They are brave, and full of love.  

A few days ago a fellow blogger, Minivan Mama  blogged about an incredible organization, 'Make Someone Smile'.  Every Monday she makes it her mission to do a good deed and this past Monday was no different.  

For the cost of a card and stamp we can all make a child smile. There are currently three beautiful children featured on the website who need our love and support. What they really need is a card to make them smile.  That's it - we can all do that, right?! (Of course, if you want to do more than give a card, I'm sure their families would be grateful for that too!)  

Emalee (in the photo above) is three years old.  Literally overnight she developed two golf-ball sized bumps above her eyes.  From that day forward her family's life as they knew it has been forever changed.  

"... After hours of waiting and not knowing what was wrong, a CT scan showed they were some type of tumors and she was immediately taken to another hospital for further testing. We were then told after many hours and tests later, that Emalee had cancer, which was Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. It apparently started as a large tumor in her abdomen and had already spread to her knee, clavicle, bone marrow and head."  

Addison is six years old.  

"Two days after Easter 2010, he had a fever of 102.5 accompanied by severe jaw pain. We took him to the pediatrician where they ran a blood test. The phone call that followed a couple hours later, was one that turned our world upside down. All I remember was the doctor saying, 'Sarah, we have to talk. It's not good. Addison has Leukemia'."

Aiden is four years old.

"We first noticed a major sign that 'something wasn't right' with Aiden on the actual day of his diagnosis, April 17th of 2010. He woke up from his nap with severe stomach pain and couldn't even move off of the couch .... so he had to take Aiden to the ER at the hospital down the street. They did blood work and thought that maybe he had appendicitis.  The blood work came back ... The doctors assured me that his condition was indeed cancerous and that there was definitely no mistake- he had Leukemia."

While giving thanks on this special day, take five minutes to make a child (or two or three) smile.  
http://www.makeachildsmile.org/

I don't eat meat.  I don't eat turkey.  I don't eat chicken.  I don't eat ham.  (This is starting to sound like a Dr. Seuss book.)  I very occasionally eat bacon, but that's not meat; that's bacon.  Bacon is not meat, it's bacon!  

Despite my aversion to meat, I do enjoy the tradition of making Thanksgiving dinner.  I cook a turkey every couple of years.  I'm told they are quite delicious.  

I usually buy a fresh turkey, but this year I got sucked into buying a frozen turkey from my favorite grocer, Trader Joe's. 

10:40 p.m. last night. I was laying in bed running through everything I need to do to make tomorrow go as smoothly as possible.  The turkey is already brined. Do I have a big enough roasting pot? I think so. Do I have a thermometer?  No, but I know who does.
I need to calibrate my oven; it's a little off.  What time do I need to put the turkey in the oven?  Oh crap!  I suddenly recalled that it takes days to thaw out a turkey.  I quickly conferred with my reliable friend, google, who told me that my turkey will take 2-3 days to thaw out.  I jumped out of bed and threw the bird into the refrigerator.  

8:43 a.m.  this morning.  Checked the turkey.  Still hard as a rock.  Make that a boulder.  As hard as a boulder.  Quick, get back in touch with google. How do I thaw the bird today.  safely.  ?  Okay, ice the bird at room temperature, changing the water every 30 minutes.  Be careful that there are no tears in the bag.  Make sure the bird stays cold.  Make sure you change the water every. thirty. minutes.  I cannot spend all day changing the bird's water every thirty minutes!  I have things to do.  Important things to do. 

9:03 a.m.  Called Trader Joe's. Explained that I need to return my frozen turkey that I bought this past Sunday.  Explained that I forgot it takes days to thaw a turkey.  I apologized, and explained that I need to return it so that I can go elsewhere to buy a fresh bird. The gentleman on the phone told me that they only have fresh turkeys, but in any event, I was welcome to bring my bird back.  I bought the bird at a different TJ's, they must have different turkeys.

9:22 a.m.  Drove to Trader Joe's with my bird.  We walked up to the manager, my bird and I, and I explained my predicament.  "I'm so sorry, but I  bought a frozen bird and I neglected to take it out of the freezer in time.  I would like to return the bird so I can go somewhere else where I can buy a fresh bird."  

9:23 a.m.  TJ's manager politely explained to me, without making me feel like a complete idiot, that my bird was fresh.  I took a fresh bird and plunked it in the freezer!  He graciously agreed to exchange the bird.  All of the birds were bigger than my original bird.  Not by much, but enough to cost a little more.  No problem.  Except that in my moment of panic, I left the house without my wallet.  No problem, he said.  I left with a bird. A fresh, brined bird. A fresh, brined bird is now sitting in my refrigerator.  

Thank you, Trader Joe's. You're always there for me.