I had a really different Thanksgiving this year. I can never seem to get the relationships right with people who are not in my own family, but I finally got this one straight: it was my daughter’s friend’s brother and his wife who invited us all up to the hill country of Central Texas. As the day of our departure approached, my daughter was afraid she would catch something from the people at work who would lean confidentially close and tell her in a congested voice that they were too sick to stay and were going to go home. She showed them the same consideration (not!) they had showed her, and told them to get away from her! Fortunately, she did not get sick and we did get to make the trip.
We left the warm Rio Grande Valley and made bets on when we would meet the expected cold front before arriving, but the timing was perfect. We were already settled into our rooms and munching on ham sandwiches Wednesday evening when the front rolled in dry and cloudy. The temperature stayed around 40F during the day and dipped into the 30s at night the whole time we were there. On Friday it began to rain a bit. But to me it felt good. I went out walking around the neighborhood in a light quilted hooded jacket and was warm enough to enjoy looking at the estates rising from the same rocky hills that provided the stones for their walls.
There is a lot I could tell you, but we just had a comfortable, relaxed time with good food, playing with two friendly, but well-trained dogs, a game of Canasta one night, and enjoying the comfort and beauty of that big native stone, wood, and glass house, with its hardwood floors, walls, and cabinet work. All the counter tops were granite, the ceilings were all about 15 feet high, each bedroom had access to its own bathroom and had its own wall TV. There was a game room with a bar, and several double doors led onto the back patio with its salt-water pool and hot tub (which we did not use because of the weather.)
You can guess what vehicles were parked in the spacious garage. The younger folks took one of them into Austin on Friday to shop, but I stayed at the house with the wife, who spent the day doing embroidery, playing games on one of the computers, and watching the Star Trek Enterprise marathon with me. After two 6-hour road trips, those long walks I took, and some late nights, I was too tired to do much of anything after we got home. I made it to church Sunday morning, but dozed in the recliner all afternoon. I am actually feeling pretty good now, but need to go to bed. I have stuff to do this week! And I have a lot to be thankful for!
