Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

This week in Cub Scouts we got serious about town history and civic duty. The boys learned to fold the flag properly and they learned about the (mostly railway related) history of Mount Airy.

I worked the past weekend.

The girls that I work with are fantastic. We are all tired and ready to not work on the weekend any more.

By the time Wednesday before Thanksgiving rolled around we were quite ready to jump ship.

One of our coworkers brought in a grow your own crystal set to cheer us up.

We made crystals and gave them the long holiday to set.

This is what they looked like the evening before Thanksgiving.

Next week you will get the big reveal!

When I got home from work I was greeted by this masterpiece of a holiday table.

Mom and the kids and David had cleaned the house and set up the thanksgiving table and even gotten a good ways into the cooking.

It was wonderful.

David was home to help because this happened.

His serpentine belt broke while he was driving home from work on Tuesday night.

On Wendsnssday moring we learned that it had broken because the air-conditioning compressor had died.

That was a major and unexpected expense right there.

boo

On the other hand it got me to thinking about how an unexpected $1500.00 bill like that is more than enough to cripple a lot of people in our position and we are ok.

There is a good reminder of what we have to be thankful for.

We are OK. I wont be getting my new car yet and that is just fine.

On Thanksgiving morning we got up early and went into Baker park with the whole family plus Aunt Licia for the Waystation 5k Turkey trot.

I was slow as molasses and my knee hurt but I did it. I am proud of myself. David showed just how well his new meds are working and cut about 7 minutes off of last years time!

Kiernan groused and groaned all the way until the race at which point he perked right up and ran and chatted and told me of his plans to be a runner when he grows up.

Megan nearly dusted the entire field and took off like a shot.

Licia and David took off after her weaving through the field at a sprint.

It was Megan all over!

Then we went home and had a big (for us) 10 person meal with all the trimmings.

It was the best and most Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving we have ever thrown. It is our new gold standard.

fingers crossed we can pull it off again in future.

Then we all crashed hard and ate leftovers morning noon and night for the next two days.

Aunt Judy came to visit us. She came just in time to watch me recover from my first 2 big assignments of the week: a paper for biology and a group project for biology.

She also came in time to see the kids preform their live action reading of the Elephant and Piggy book Let's go for a Drive.

Behold

I had another larger paper due on Sunday so we split our time between staring at computer screens and taking everyone out for some very cold and windy walks.

Both the kids were in vocal desire for some one on one time.

So we designed special outtings for them.

Kiernan and I (plus aunt Judy) went out to Sushi while Megan and daddy went over to noodle company.

Kiernan was very unhappy about missing out on noodle company.

He spent a lot of the day telling us how miserable he was.

It seemed like nothing could please him and he said repeatedly that he felt unloved and rejected.

It was worrying and frustrating and I am still trying to decide what to do about it.

This has been a series of days in which he should have been very happy.

We've had no school or work with lots of together time and lots of fun things that he likes to do.

He wound up loving the sushi.

He usually is a ball of sunshine when Judy is around.

He got an early Christmas present that he really wanted from Aunt Lore (expansion to his favorite video game).

He had sleepovers with Megan.

He got to see grandma and grandpa. 

He got a medal for running.

He had lots of good food and sleep.

He is down to one medication and didn't throw up at all.

He just felt sad.

He says that he feels embarrassed and sad. he says that he cant stop thinking about a boy from school who is bothering him.

He says he doesn't want to talk about it because it is embarrassing.

I am worried about it.

I know some of it was just boredom and cabin fever.

Some of it though sounds like a lot of what I struggled with at his age.

I don't want him to feel worthless and he says that he dose.

I am thinking about talking to his school counselor to get him an evaluation.

I don't want to do that.

I feel the stigma monster.

On the other hand I want to try and do something now while he is young and malleable.

I don't want him to have to deal with an ever worsening set of struggles into teenage hood.

Any advice would be appreciated.

He says he doesn't want to see a shrink but I am not sure he even knows what that means.

Megan in contrast has been fine and dandy and excited about the holidays and about her new status as a bus rider (that starts next week).

She wanted another sleep over. We came up with a compromise in which she gets to sleep in our room but I get to sleep without her kicky little feet in my ribs.