Thanksgiving took on a new meaning for me this weekend.

We enjoyed Thanksgiving day with many friends at Nancy and Ed's house. The dinner was wonderful and was followed by a lively game of domino's! Jack broke his record for staying at any ones house - 5 hours! I thoroughly enjoyed the day despite my initial disappointment that neither of my son's were going to make it down to Klamath Falls for the day.

We popped up at 4 am Friday to make the 5 am Fred Meyer Sock sale and were amazed at the light turn out this year. It wasn't crowded at all! Makes a worrisome statement on the economy around here. Leaving there we discovered that anyone that was shopping that early was at Big R! We couldn't find the items we want for Christmas presents so we weren't there long. The rest of the day passed with us realizing that there isn't anything that we need or even want to buy! Man, is that something to be Thankful for!

Saturday morning, at Dad's request, we went and looked at the model studio to make sure there would be a window Jake could look out of at the assisted living facility. Dad was visibly pleased when we'd told him his dog could be with him at the assisted living places we were considering and he seemed eager to make the move. We gave Dad the strongest reading glasses we could find in hopes it would allow him to read during the long hospital days (he'd said when he got moved he'd need to see an optometrist again as his prescription glasses weren't working). Reading has been Dad's primary activity for a couple years now and with his inability to hear there wasn't anything to replace it!

Jack and I spent 1 1/2 hours with Dad to make sure we would be there when the doctor made his rounds Saturday morning and discussed the possible time line with him. The fluid retention had to be resolved before the Dr would make any further decisions. He said Monday would be the soonest he thought we'd know.

During my day Christmas shopping that afternoon I came across a large print book and bought it with the idea that between the reading glasses and large print Dad had a good chance of being able to read. It was about 7:30 pm when I took the book up to the hospital and gave it to Dad. The nurse said he'd been sitting in his chair earlier in the afternoon reading so the glasses seemed to make a difference. During my visit Dad told me not to wear the tires off the scooter we were going to get him before he got a chance to use it and told me about setting a breaststroke record at OSU when he was younger - speculating that maybe he could do some water therapy in a pool to get more mobile again. His feet and legs were still very swollen although the nurse said they were actually going down. Nancy had shared Thursday how massaging her mothers feet and ankles helped her swelling so I massaged Dad's feet for a few minutes before wishing him a good nights sleep. Dad smiled and gave me a wink as I left.

At 6:15 am Sunday morning our phone rang. Dad died during the night.

I am thankful I didn't wait until morning to take Dad the book. I am thankful I know that he was cheerful and at peace Saturday evening. Dad had told Jack a few days before that he wished he could just have a heart attack and be done. I am glad that his last wish came true. I'm thankful I KNOW his last day was full of family contact, efforts to make his life as good as possible and an optimistic outlook for the future.

Yesterday and today have been full of taking care of final details but we are not overly sad. We are thankful that Dad got to skip nursing homes and/or assisted living. Friends have called, come by with cards, food and sympathetic words. We feel loved and important because they take the time to do so. We are thankful for their caring actions.

Thanksgiving....Thankful I've given, Thanks for others giving.