Giving Thanks

I've been back in Florida almost a week now and I am only now starting to feel as though I'm really "here", still I give thanks. Separating my concerns for what has obviously been an ongoing and worrisome situation back in Philly, and trying to focus on Sophia and my job has not been easy. Added to this equation the upcoming over-hyped, hyper commercialized, holiday season blitz and it's enough to make you wanna retreat to an little island somewhere. Of course this isn't an option either, since all of my concerns and responsibilities would be hovering over my umbrella on the beach as I enjoyed my ice cold Corona.

Arriving home was good, Sophia and her mother came to Pick me up from Palm Beach airport. Owing to the fact that my bag had not yet appeared on the carousel, Sophia jumped out of the car and came inside to wait with me as her mami did another pass around the airport. There's nothing like the adoration of your child to make things seem better as she clung to me like lint from a dryer. For this alone I gave thanks. We talked about school, her field trip, oh and her math test was a proud topic as well. Of course what she really wanted to know was what had I brought her, as I always pick up something for her when I travel.

Sophie had patiently waited for me to see the premiere of Zathura, since we always do movies together, she had even declined seeing it with friends until I arrived- funny kid. After two days of work I had a weekend to finally give her the attention she deserved and that I missed. Friday night started out with another premiere: Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. Now PinF isn't that big a fan of HP movies, still it seemed the thing to do with all the buzz surrounding the movie so off we went. As we arrived Sophie and I noticed all the kids dressed as different little characters, it was as if HP was to kids what Rocky Horror was to adults. If I saw one more kid in round spectacles waving a wand....thank God she's not into that. The movie was decent, the special effects mesmerizing, we ate popcorn and Goobers-- our standard fare for movies. Again as I sat there with her I gave thanks for such simple pleasures.

We continued on with our weekend, a rainy one but warm. Started Saturday with a pancake breakfast and some music. Then we did something I hadn't done for a long time, we broke out some magazines and glue sticks and made a collage laughing and joking all afternoon. It was pretty good actually, as she is a creative little girl. We used some old Philadelphia magazines so of course the collage had a Philly slant to it, as she considers herself a "Philly girl" which is kind of funny too. As the rain pounded the windows we spent the day just relaxing with our project, both us content in the moment and each other's company. Moments like these make me give thanks too. The afternoon was the highlight as we went to the Publix and bought all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies and spent the rest of the day baking, this was fun. It brought back warm memories of my own childhood, when I too would get to eat the cookie dough from the bowl. Funny how in life there really are constants to draw memory from, and toll house cookies are one of them. No matter how long ago you made them, the recipe guarantees the same exact taste that you remember. Give thanks for this.

Sunday we awoke and went to mass after which Sophie went to Catetchism class in preparation for her Holy Communion. This allowed me a power hour to get the Sunday paper and peruse over it while enjoying a Stabucks caramel machiato. Sophia loves Sunday school, I mean really loves it. Funny because I can remember my brothers and I skipping St. Charles mass and Sunday school in Drexel Hill and then taking our collection money and buying penny candy. From there we would go to the "trestle" that carried the trolleys over the creek and hide out, making each other laugh with mouthfuls of candy. Ultimately we would then devote a certain amount of time to getting our stories straight before heading home for Sunday breakfast. That she loves Sunday school I am also thankful for, mystified--but thankful just the same.

Sunday was rainy too. Weekends like these begin to cut into a parent's imaginative creativity. It is because of this that I give thanks on days like these that I am parent to one child, and not three or four. When we returned from church I promised Sophie I would take her to Build-a-Bear to get a new holiday outfit for her bear. We were both feeling the slight effects of cabin fever so it was actually nice to visit a mall for once, something PinF does not normally enjoy. After "bathing" the bear and dressing her in her new outfit there was another issue to tend to. I had brought Sophia to have her ears pierced in August, she naturally chose the cubic zirconia "bling" from Claire's. For anyone who has never been to Claire's, well let's just say it's more of a mami/daughter place as it was next to impossible to get her out of the store, it's also quite simply put, nivana for young girly girls. Yet here I was heading back into the belly of the beast because Sophia had taken one earing out and had waited a few days before putting it back in. The young lady informed me the hole had filled in, ouch. This meant a re-piercing and Sophia wasn't really down with that. We got it done anyway with the promise/bribe of a small binge shop in Claire's if she complied. She put on a brave face and got through it, promising me that she would not take out these earings until Valentines, at which time the holes would be a bit more permanent. Her consternation at having to re-pierce the ear was lightened up when she told me that I didn't know what it felt like, at which I revealed I did, and that I had once pierced my ear. She's still asking me questions about this. I gave thanks that she got through it.

We arrived home and each of us quickly changed into our Eagles paraphanalia; she in her pink hat and pink Eagles shirt, me in my green Eagles hat. We watched the first few minutes, and then she bailed, choosing instead to work on the computer. The Eagles of course let us down again though we each shrugged it off and continued our weekend. Dinner was meatballs and spaghetti followed by the chocolate chip cookies. Homework was a snap, and then it was bath time and off to bed by 8:45. I spent the last hour ironing her uniform and making her lunch savoring the laid back weekend I had with a funny little seven year-old, while marveling at all we had accomplished, though none of what we did ever seemed forced. I turned the lights out and made sure she had her blanket on, and as I looked in on her I thought of my father and how child-like he too seemed and I wondered how he was. I gave her a kiss and gave thanks for the wonderful little person I was given.

As we head into the Thanksgiving week it's so easy to get caught up in the day to day grind, worrying about what we don't have. The funny thing about Americans is exactly that, we worry about what we don't have, whereas most of the world worries about what they don't have, but really need. We are such a pampered bunch of commercial consumers that we forget our blessings, and focus more on the "stuff" in life. Case in point: the mall yesterday, how obscene has Christmas become that a little after Halloween you begin to be bombarded with the commercial blitz. In a era of families whose father's, son's, and mother's, are soldiers dying far from home, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced by natural calamities, it's almost sinful to worry about what you haven't got. I'm just as guilty mind you, though weekends like the one I just had do tend to draw me back into what's really important and what I ought to be really thankful for. And so I am, having just been through the ongoing process of my father's medial condition and then to have that contrasted by the spirit of my daughter's zest for life. I will try to give thanks for the simple, more obvious blessings, and care less for what I have not got that I do not need.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you from PinF.