The words "Thanksgiving"

At a time when our tummies are full of turkey and other great foods, I am reflecting on five years ago. Five years ago, we all sat down to share a Thanksgiving dinner. Well not all, someone was missing. And that was just the first of many Thanksgiving dinner that she would miss. I remember it like it was yesterday. The call that came late at night. The late night trip to the emergency room. The look on the DR face. The state she was in. The next day was Thanksgiving. The call I got from the DR, the complications, the decisions that had to be made. Thanksgiving dinner that year wasn't about giving thanks but about giving up someone that had been a  person in our lives. We had all seen it coming to this. The treatments weren't working, the many trips to the hospital, the care she was getting in the nursing home and hospice. There was only so much that could be done. Her body was tired, her heart was working overtime and her speech was limited. She started losing her appetite, they had to feed her, do all the care for her, wheel her to and from. She spoke with her eyes and occasionally she spoke out loud. That day our family was uprooted. This is too hard. I know I said. It is something we have to do. But in the end, we didn't have to do anything at all.  You see, we don't have control on when the body is going to stop working. Only God does. He knew we couldn't make that decision, so November 29, 2008 God decided it was time for my mom to join him in heaven. When I think of Thanksgiving, I thank God for giving me a wonderful mother, a wonderful grandmother to my children and a wonderful mother-in-law to my husband. He gave me my mom when I was 2 years old. She raised me and my brother as a single parent since 1974. And she did the best job any parent can, given the situations. I am thankful for the values she taught me, the morals and the life lessons I have learned along the way. I miss my mom a

lot. But I am thankful she is free of pain and suffering.

Kathy