Friday, November 28, 2025 – Day 472

Friday, November 28, 2025

Good morning, everyone.

We had our non-Thanksgiving meal yesterday with Barb, Mark, Donna, and Joe. Honestly, it felt more like Easter…ham, potatoes, asparagus, the whole springtime lineup. The turkey is making its grand entrance tomorrow. All of this meal-shuffling was simply to make sure the kids could join us… or at least the ones still within driving distance.

I am so thankful for all people who think of us and our situation every single day. The holidays have a way of stirring up all the feelings—joy, excitement, nostalgia—and at the same time they can be heavy and hard. Somehow, both can be true, often within the same day and hour by hour.

We had plenty of options for Thanksgiving this year. Invitations came in from:

There’s roughly an 80-degree difference between St. Maarten and Minocqua. It’s really a question of preferred activities: do we want to ski or snorkel? Feel the cold slap us across the face or lounge in hot sand like lizards? It’s a tough call… in theory.

Donna and Joe stepped up after we passed on both sunbathing in St. Maarten and freezing our eyelashes off in Minocqua. They offered to host a non-turkey feast at their home since their big Thanksgiving celebration happened last week.

Then came my two gravity checks this past week…yes, two…so Donna asked if moving the meal to our home would be easier on me. That answer took about half a second. Yes. Traveling is hard, and when you add in my need for an ADA bathroom, the choice became obvious.

So we ended up with a small, intimate holiday that didn’t tip into excess. We watched football, shared a simple meal (thank you, Donna and Barb), and most importantly, we were together. That’s really what this season is about.

I’m grateful for family, for the people who show up, for the ones who think of us, and for the kindness that arrives in a hundred different forms. Yesterday was quieter, smaller, and maybe a bit unconventional…but it was exactly right. It fit our situation.

Have a great “Black Friday”. If you’re out shopping today, I suppose you’re already in line somewhere. Good luck getting your deals…I will be right here enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Love you guys!❤️

Photos:

  1. Coco trying to get comfortable on the plane.
  2. Wyatt succeeding in getting comfortable on the plane.
  3. Up North with my sister Maria her husband Pete, and my brother Bill.
  4. Flat Andy in St. Maarten with Kevin (Nikki’s father-in-law).
  5. Our home with Donna, Joe, Barb, and Mark.