Thanksgiving in Port Aransas

Thanksgiving in Port Aransas was magical and peaceful. I was worried about the holiday and the hole in my heart from missing dad, but it was genuinely okay. I missed Dad, yes. Yes. But he was with me and my family was together and it was good. We didn't go home and I think that was a good choice. Going home right now comes with a huge dose of guilt for leaving and heartbreak over my dad not being there. The beach was a balm. The waves rolled in all night long and lulled me to sleep. The weather was perfect and warm and lovely. We took long walks on the beach (until I threw my back out and became an invalid, but that's not part of my narrative today). We cooked together and shopped together and ate together and read and played games. We played lots of games and especially enjoyed Fibbage and Drawful and we laughed and laughed and laughed until we were drunk with laughter. My sister said that a family who laughs together stays together and she is right. My family has grown even closer since dad's death and that is a gift from him as well. On Thanksgiving day, we made a beautiful seafood feast and ate it in courses. It was gorgeous. We also saw friends while we were there. We had a beach bonfire and amores with the Rios family and sang Karaoke at Salty Dog with Stacey and Chris. That was so fun to spend time with friends that I hold so dear and miss so much.
And Samuel celebrated his tenth birthday with a fishing trip on his Uncle Keith's boat on the ocean. He was thrilled and had so much fun. It was truly an amazing week. I had my husband all week after weeks of being apart. My dad was missing, but family and ocean and sun and sky made it a week for reflecting and enjoying all the good in my life that is still here.