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“Did you pack the Stove Top Stuffing?” my wife asked.

“Yes, it’s right next to my underwear.” I answered.
It seems that after a year of doing nothing but work, we are rewarded with 3 great holidays, spanning 3 months to end the year.

Halloween – Thanksgiving – Christmas

And when it comes to these holidays, I always make sure the wife and I can take the time to appreciate not only what these holidays represent but also our time together.

So when the wife approached me about visiting her family over Thanksgiving, I had a second of pause. Don’t get me wrong. I do love the in-laws. But giving up Thanksgiving is something I’ve never done.

You see in France they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.

When I made an off-hand comment to Joelle about losing Thanksgiving, she said, “My mom has already ordered a turkey. We’re having Thanksgiving there!”

Hook a brother up!

Sure enough, on that 4th Thursday of November, a beautiful golden turkey rolled out of my mother-in-law’s oven. It was perfect which is surprising considering it was the first turkey she had ever made.

The Frenchies, and one American, all sat around the table and started the feast. As the champagne and wine flowed, the normal family banter started up and before long it was as if the borders had melted away and Thanksgiving was really happening thousands of miles from home.

As the in-laws tried their best to pronounce “Sanksgiving” correctly, my heart took in that moment. Being thankful that I could still celebrate this wonderful holiday. Being thankful for being able to spend time with my wife’s family. Being thankful for my wife and that she appreciates how much this holiday meant to me. Being thankful that my mother-in-law made sure that I got to celebrate this great day.

By the by – the in-laws loved the Stove Top Stuffing.

I posted to Facebook, wishing everyone back home a wonderful Thanksgiving. I checked back a few hours later and I saw this posted to my page.

Same to you, buddy. We’re hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year for the first time and you are largely to thank for that. We’re glad we found a guy who “got us” and put up with our quirks enough to get a happy ending for all involved. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. – James

James and Anna, with their superstar daughter Mackenzie, are a great family who I was able to help this last summer buy their dream home. I read James note, got a little dust in my eye, and then felt even more thankful for being able to help people.

With Christmas coming up, we’ll spend this month catching up with friends and family.

For the actual Christmas Day, we’ll go from Airplane Mode to Cocoon Mode. While it’s nice to spend time with family, this is more of an immediate family holiday for us. In the next week, we’ll adopt a Christmas tree and bring it home where it will be decorated to the point of almost falling over. Buried underneath blankets, we’ll munch on chocolates, cookies and anything else unhealthy while watching movie trilogies and Christmas specials.

Joelle is a big fan of the Snoopy dance.

To draw this letter to a close, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for taking the time each month to read what I send out. Joelle and I wish you all the best for this holiday season and I look forward to seeing you in 2017!

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