Thanksgiving 2012
24/11/12 11:34
Trying to get back to my journal and not having a lot of luck. I never go back to see where I left off since it would be nearly impossible to bridge that gap in the few paragraphs that manage to get down on paper even on a good day. As always, there is Evan. The shenanigans as of late? It's enough to keep you up at night worrying about that boy. Can't get him to focus long enough on his college stuff to get the application done. He'd rather hang out with his boys. What they do I don't want to know. It no doubt involves alcohol and god knows what else. Maybe too much alcohol. He is eighteen and an adult by most measures. He will have to live and die by the choices that he makes. Let's hope he makes the right choices. He has already shown a propensity to make bad choices in the selection of kids he calls friends. We're at a loss for words and close to tears when we consider the impact of the what we've seen. His mama is beside herself with dread. Dreading that nothing good can come from what we've seen as of late. The Twitter snippets; the Facebook comments; and that pervasive and undefined odor that permeates his bedroom are all flags that not all is well in his world. Despite the cautionary tales told by his Endocrinologist in a private phone call, Evan continues to drink. Hopefully, he drinks less. Nonetheless, it can kill him and that was a necessary conversation. It bears watching.
Not sure how Romney lost the election to Obama but he did. We need to move on. The goal now is to get through the holidays and do the best we can to stay on an even keel. We're talking about going to NY at the end of the year and that should be a good trip weather permitting. I have no complaints about work and look forward to learning more about the Agency side of the business in my newly expanded role. Nancy is doing her best to reduce the travel time to her job and if it doesn't work out then she will be done. That is an acceptable alternative. For the first time in 18 years or so, we had Thanksgiving dinner at home this year. Mrs G just wasn't up to managing it. As spry as she is in the aftermath of her bypass surgery, which was some months ago now, I suspect her choice to not have dinner there had more to do with the Mr. He is less well and with his own problems to be sure. It certainly appears that the melanoma on his scalp has returned. The vertical nodes are unmistakeable and it is only a matter of time before they ulcerate just like the ones he had removed earlier this year. Whatever it is, it is aggressive and I am alarmed at the lack of conversation around the matter. If they have a strategy, they are certainly not sharing it. Maybe it is a quality of life issue. Better to do what you do day in and day out while you can than to be ravaged and sidelined by radiation treatments designed to kill aberrant cells and sometimes the patient. It is a term more commonly known in the military as collateral damage. Whichever the case, he and the Mrs have made their decision. After 60 years together, they are entitled to pick their poison. Even if it does kill the patient. God help them.
The meal at home was a good one. Not having to cart it half way across town from our house to Nancy's parent's home as we usually do each year made it that much easier. The decision to buy a farm raised turkey was one of the better decisions we made this year. We would always choose to do so but the opportunity is sometimes elusive. We certainly waited until the last minute to get one this year so we consider ourselves fortunate to have found one as we did. The Hurd Farm purchased chicks sometime in the spring and harvested them just prior to Thanksgiving. The price was not cheap but the quality was well worth the extra money. Mrs G called me just today and told me that it was the best turkey she had ever had. And now, I'm having a go at making soup from the bones. I've never done it but have always wanted to so today is the day. It promises to be a crisp cool weekend so it will be nice to have some good soup to eat. We managed as well to clean the leaves up around the yard and I even managed to get the chimney flu cleaned yesterday. Busy is good. The wood pile will require my attention and that may well be tomorrow's task. A man needs tasks to keep his mind and body occupied. If those tasks soil the hands and bring the man closer to the earth, then the tasks are indeed heaven sent. It is something I do not do nearly enough of. Oh yes, there is a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Let me count the ways.
Not sure how Romney lost the election to Obama but he did. We need to move on. The goal now is to get through the holidays and do the best we can to stay on an even keel. We're talking about going to NY at the end of the year and that should be a good trip weather permitting. I have no complaints about work and look forward to learning more about the Agency side of the business in my newly expanded role. Nancy is doing her best to reduce the travel time to her job and if it doesn't work out then she will be done. That is an acceptable alternative. For the first time in 18 years or so, we had Thanksgiving dinner at home this year. Mrs G just wasn't up to managing it. As spry as she is in the aftermath of her bypass surgery, which was some months ago now, I suspect her choice to not have dinner there had more to do with the Mr. He is less well and with his own problems to be sure. It certainly appears that the melanoma on his scalp has returned. The vertical nodes are unmistakeable and it is only a matter of time before they ulcerate just like the ones he had removed earlier this year. Whatever it is, it is aggressive and I am alarmed at the lack of conversation around the matter. If they have a strategy, they are certainly not sharing it. Maybe it is a quality of life issue. Better to do what you do day in and day out while you can than to be ravaged and sidelined by radiation treatments designed to kill aberrant cells and sometimes the patient. It is a term more commonly known in the military as collateral damage. Whichever the case, he and the Mrs have made their decision. After 60 years together, they are entitled to pick their poison. Even if it does kill the patient. God help them.
The meal at home was a good one. Not having to cart it half way across town from our house to Nancy's parent's home as we usually do each year made it that much easier. The decision to buy a farm raised turkey was one of the better decisions we made this year. We would always choose to do so but the opportunity is sometimes elusive. We certainly waited until the last minute to get one this year so we consider ourselves fortunate to have found one as we did. The Hurd Farm purchased chicks sometime in the spring and harvested them just prior to Thanksgiving. The price was not cheap but the quality was well worth the extra money. Mrs G called me just today and told me that it was the best turkey she had ever had. And now, I'm having a go at making soup from the bones. I've never done it but have always wanted to so today is the day. It promises to be a crisp cool weekend so it will be nice to have some good soup to eat. We managed as well to clean the leaves up around the yard and I even managed to get the chimney flu cleaned yesterday. Busy is good. The wood pile will require my attention and that may well be tomorrow's task. A man needs tasks to keep his mind and body occupied. If those tasks soil the hands and bring the man closer to the earth, then the tasks are indeed heaven sent. It is something I do not do nearly enough of. Oh yes, there is a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Let me count the ways.