Ever since 1989, Thanksgiving has been a bittersweet holiday for me. 34 years ago, I lost my adopted Mom to cirrhosis of the liver and other complications. Suffice it to say, her passing wasn’t easy on a lot of levels, and I still remember pretty vividly what happened on Nov 22 that year. I’m not going to relate it here, because it’s not a story I need to share in detail.
Of course, to add insult to injury, on Nov 23 of last year, I lost my cat Rochester to a tumor. His passing hit us both pretty hard, and though we both dote on and love Bella to pieces, we both most definitely miss her big brother all the more.
I was relating this to a friend of mine this afternoon while I was on lunch, telling her that this is a very difficult ane melancholy time of year. She sympathized, but reiterated I still have a lot of things to be both thankful for, and things to celebrate even though it’s not the best of times. Which I agree with, one can still mourn the loss of those close to us, and still manage to remember there are good things still to be had, and good things to come with the people we have in our lives now. And in the future.
RIP Mom, RIP Rochester. Miss you both, now and always. I know you’re both looking over us and making sure we’re ok.