Friday, November 25, 2005

Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for my wonderful family. I'm thankful that we always say "I love you" before we part ways or hang up the phone. I'm thankful that we hug and kiss, that we can be emotional and affectionate and not be embarrassed by it.

I love my mom, who gets tipsy on a few glasses of wine and shares stories from her childhood in Serbia. I love that she puts old tapes into the deck of our home stereo and fills the house with a foreign language. I love that she invited her friend, Watson, a soldier she works with, to have dinner with us... I love that she calls him her adopted son. I love that he accepted. I love that my mom loves her kids - the ones she's birthed and the ones she's taken under her wing because they're far from home - so deeply, so fully, that she'd do anything for them. I love the way she looks at my dad, still so smitten after all these years.

I love my father, who sits back and laughs silently when my mom starts slurring her words. I love to hear him cracking jokes as he carves a huge turkey on the kitchen island, his glasses sitting on top of his head, making dents in his thick mane of salt and pepper hair. I love when he starts telling tales of the man he was before the kids were born, the stories of him and my mom traveling the world. I love when he stretches his arm out and puts it around my mom at the table. I love their life together.

I love my little brother, who can make me laugh until tears pour from my eyes. I love that he's not ashamed to tell me he loves me in front of his friends. I love that he sits next to me at the table, and understands exactly what I mean when I give him certain looks. I love that he's so kind, such a good young man.

I love my Billy. I love that he's happy to come to my parents' for dinner, fitting in seamlessly with my family. I love when I hear his laugh, I love that he tried to read Serbian with my mom, half joking and half serious. I love the way he makes me laugh. I love the way he looks at me. I love that we woke up together Thanksgiving morning to snow and coffee. I love that we effortlessly split the holiday between my family and his. I love how perfect it felt.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

yay! a picture finally. y'all are cute.

Anonymous said...

damn it, that boy is handsome. and is that a cardigan he's wearing? perhaps paying homage to perry como? ....what style! you really are lucky. i suppose he could only look better if he went to bed wearing nothing more than black socks. you should really write more about this boy.

sincerely,
the boyfriend

Anonymous said...

What about me???
:(

Unknown said...

Oh my god, my friends and I were just talking about the boys who wear nothing to bed but black socks.

Laurie, it strikes me how similar our families are...the relationship between your parents, and your relationship with your little brother.

You're a beautiful writer. I love how you can conjure up wonderful, vast pictures with a single sentence, like the one about you and Billy waking up to snow and coffee. That one was my favorite.

Julie said...

I'm glad you had a wonderful holiday! and that you have so many things to be thankful for.

Anonymous said...

It is a great picture, and you both look very happy; it's great to see. Thanks.

Tiffany said...

How's the new job going? Inquiring minds are dying to know...