Thanksgiving: a Time to Count Your Blessings

This Thanksgiving break showed me how much I truly have to be thankful for. I was lucky enough to come home a few days early. I spent the first few days shopping and spending time with my family. I missed them wayyyy too much to be healthy, especially my puppy (okay, she's 13 but still...). On Sunday, I went to Zumba with Patrick's mom and younger sister. I missed them like crazy! It's funny sometimes how you don't realize how much you missed something until you have it again. That night I got to see two of my favorite people from home, Liz and Michele. On top of that, I got ice cream. Real ice cream, not the frozen yogurt they give us at Pencader.

Monday, I got to see one of my best friends from home, Tori. We had a lot of catching up to do because we hadn't talked, let alone seen each other in forever! Somewhere in there I went to Target with my mommy.

On Tuesday, I woke up not feeling so hot. I had a sore throat and stuffy nose. Not cool. I ended up finally going to Forever 21 with my mommy. I had some awesome luck and found quite a few things I loved! I went shopping 3 out of the 4 days I was home so far. The next day was sure to be the best.

Wednesday, I woke up and knew I had some work to do. Patrick would be home later that evening and I was going to make chocolate covered pretzels for him. Originally, I had made some for Jason's birthday and was going to make more for Thanksgiving, but I realized Patrick actually does like them. After a year and a half of dating, I figured out my boyfriend likes something I make. So I was busy all day making them. Then, I had time to wait for Patrick to get home! Boy, did it feel like forever. He finally got home and a bit later, came over to pick me up. I hadn't been to his house since Sunday so I had yet to see Kara, Jason, Leah, or Nicole. And on top of that, his grandparents were there!! I love being around his family more than anything. Since it got dark so early, it seemed a lot later than it was, which is awesome when you want to spend all the time in the world with your boyfriend. Around 9 o'clock, we decided I was staying over and that I should get my clothes, toothbrush, etc so I could wake up for yoga the next day and be prepared for Thanksgiving. I got to stay in Maggie and Kara's room for the first time that night. It was pretty awesome.

On Thanksgiving, we were up and out of the house by 6:30. We basically had a private yoga class consisting of Julie (Patrick's mom), Kara & Maggie (Patrick's sisters), Jason & Leah (Patrick's brother and his girlfriend), and then Patrick & me. It was awesome, but definitely the hardest yoga class I've ever taken. It was very strength based and I could definitely tell I've gotten out of shape since I've gone to school. Then we headed back to the Dods' household. Matthew slept a bit late and so Patrick and I ran him over to the EHT football field for the pregame marching band show. When we got back, everyone had already left for the show so I showered and got dressed and we went back to EHT to watch the game. After the game, we stopped at Wawa for some iced coffee, yum. I got to help Patrick's mom (and grandmother and aunt) with the Thanksgiving cooking. I love being in the kitchen and being allowed to help out like "part of the family" was absolutely awesome. Dinner was amazing though I felt very sick after, and I still don't know why. I do have to say, my boyfriend is absolutely amazing and stayed in from the traditional after dinner walk to be with me because I felt terrible. He is so good to me, I couldn't be thankful enough to have such an amazing man in my life. I ended up feeling better a bit later, thank gosh. Eventually, it was time for me to head home after a long, fun-filled day.

Friday, I woke up and didn't have much to do. It was super nice out, but Patrick was at the gym so I had a bit of waiting to do. Being the awesome boyfriend he is, he surprised me with a walk on the boardwalk. We were a bit quiet, but it was such a soothing walk. When it was time to turn around (we almost got to the end of the boardwalk, so it was a VERY long walk), we went onto the beach and looked for sea glass on the way back. We got quite lucky. We got back to Patrick's house and everyone had already started on their gingerbread houses. It is a tradition for his family to make gingerbread houses the day after Thanksgiving and keep them through the holidays. I had a blast making mine. Then our friend, Cole, had people over. We got to go hang out with all of our old friends from high school. And my best friend, who, with her boyfriend, happened to set Patrick and me up, was there. I hadn't seen her in so long! I was sooo happy to get to spend time with her. I do have to say, Friday was quite the entertaining night, for multiple reasons. Once again, I stayed at Patrick's so I didn't have to go all the way home (not the 7 minutes is that far, but still).

Saturday, we went up to my cousin's house in Hoboken. She has 6 week old twin baby girls who are beyond adorable. I was the happiest girl ever getting to hold them! I'm hoping I didn't scare Patrick away too much, but he should know enough about my baby obsession not to get freaked out. It was a great day. We got back in time for my DP night that was supposed to happen around 7:30. Well, at 9:30, I still had no word on what was going on, so I headed over to Patrick's for our last night home. We watched The Changeup and then some movie about Bob, I forget the name. I didn't get home till 1, which is so weird. I am so not used to not having a curfew, because I still normally end up home fairly early anyway.

Today, I went to church with my family. It was so nice to be back in my familiar church. We ordered pizza from my favorite pizza place. Then I snuggled up to my mom on the couch and took a nap. I finished getting my stuff together and Patrick (and his dad) came to get me around 3 o'clock. They were dropping me off on Patrick's way back to the Academy. It was a nice car ride back, even though school was not the place I really wanted to go back to. It was bittersweet. After Patrick left, he texted me our new countdown: 20 days. Now if only I had a surprise up my sleeve...too bad I am not clever enough for that.

This past week has taught me how much I have to be thankful for. I have the most amazing parents and little brother who is starting to mature (minus the fact it drives him crazy I'm a vegetarian...and that he said "Go Army" the other day...he is currently disowned). I have the most perfect boyfriend a girl could ask for, and I am so thankful for him every day. I have the best boyfriend-family-in-laws imaginable, and am considered part of their family. I have a wonderful puppy who I am in love with. I have an awesome home with awesome friends. I get my education at an exceptional University. I am truly blessed with more than I deserve.