Caution: I Pause For Happiness

* * *

I actually heeded this advice for the past four days.

There were several times when I paused this Thanksgiving weekend and looked around me, as if my eyes were a camera recording the moment. I didn’t want to forget this particular holiday weekend. I wanted to keep it for all times in that wonderful place called my memory. I took in sights, sounds, and smells.

Some might say our Thanksgiving table had few people sitting around it. I hosted the dinner, and there were only eight of us: my immediate family, my parents, and my husband’s parents. I would say that it’s not the number of people at the table, but the quality of the people at the table, and my table was very, very rich. We ate, we laughed, we told stories, and we marveled at the fact that James Lipton is 86 years old as I recounted the story of what my class and I did this week as we reflected on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” As we were eating our turkey, I wanted to preserve that moment. My kids are getting bigger and growing at a faster rate than I can believe on some days. It all seems to be going by so quickly.

The fresh-cut Christmas tree that we sawed down the following day with my husband’s parents at a beautiful place called Pine Valley Farms in Sykesville, Maryland, is filling my house with the most fragrant smell of the season. That ritual has been a tradition of ours for years now. After the tree-cutting, we headed for lunch with my in-laws, and then came back to our house and decorated for the holidays.

Last night, our new home was again filled with the sound of laughter and giggles when my brother and his family, along with my mom and dad, came over for the evening. It was so wonderful to host people in a home that is making us all very happy and comfortable; additionally, we are enjoying making many new friends and are looking forward to opening our doors to them over the Christmas break.

I can’t remember enjoying a Thanksgiving break more. I love all these people more than words can say.