We all went around and said what we were thankful for, which is much less stressful and embarrassing when it’s just the three of us!  Novalie is thankful for mommy and daddy and cousins and grandmas and grandpas and the ocean and paper and tape.  Doré is thankful for games, all kinds of games, (but I bet she’s especially thankful for Mahjong that comes with Windows 7 because she plays a lot and last night we stayed up late playing Mahjong and she won four games in a row and I won one and lost one and I’m so glad Windows 7 runs good on our seven-year-old computer because we would use it no matter what because of Mahjong) and then she said she’s thankful for Novalie and Kevin.  I’m so stoked because I’m one of the two people she named. She is also thankful that she is done cooking.

Then I said I was thankful for . . . and then Novalie started whispering and so I just repeated what she said . . . Apple Strawberry and Simon.  But really that’s just Novalie because Apple is fun to play with sometimes with her cute little furry rodent face, but she gets dirty over time and nobody likes to change her cage bedding so I have to and I end up putting it off forever because the longer I wait the worse she smells and the worse she smells the longer I wait and I’ve been putting it off since right before we went to Seattle in August.  So anyway I continued with my things I’m thankful for and I said I was thankful that Novalie completed her first level of Super Mario Brothers™ for Nintendo®, and earlier this week she bagged her first few Nazis as an American WWII spy in Germany in Return to Castle Wolfenstein for the PC.  I told her not to feel bad that Himmler barely escaped down the mountain gondola because he always barely escapes and that’s how the game keeps you going.

Planet 51's Neera

For our Thanksgiving movie we saw Planet 51 which was totally awesome because it’s on another planet and it’s the human that’s the alien which is totally backwards because humans are not aliens, we are humans.  Anyway it was hilarious because there was a little rover robot sent to the planet ahead of time and it thought it was just looking for rocks so it only sent back pictures of rocks so that’s why it was a complete surprise to the American astronaut to arrive and find himself in someone’s 1950′s style backyard.  Plus Rover is cute and energetic and looks like an eager puppy when he wags his antenna and he always goes crazy when he sees a rock and he tries to pick up all the rocks he can and we said “Novalie, he loves rocks, just like you.”  And I totally had a crush on one of the aliens named Neera but that’s not weird because she’s a cartoon alien and besides Doré had a crush on Wall•E and he’s a cartoon robot and that’s way weirder and so there’s no reason to judge me.

Now it’s almost time to go because it’s getting late and Novalie and Doré are playing chess and Novalie is tired and she thinks if you capture one of her pieces that her other pieces can send a rescue party and go get it back if you forget to say “click” because that means you didn’t lock the door.

So I just want to say to everybody “Happy Thanksgiving in 2009!” and also ask if anyone knows what you’re supposed to do if you find a dead squirrel in your front yard like if there’s a number I call or do I have to do something about it myself.

I think today was my third time taking Novalie to morning kindergarten, and it’s still a haunting experience.  Watching her trot away to the schoolyard with her little blue backpack, I have a hard time resolving in my mind that she is the little baby that I scooped into my arms back in Missouri in 2003.  There must be some kind of mistake.  Someone miscounted the years.  She can’t be five years old.

Grandma’s Funeral

I attended my grandmother’s funeral back in late May.  Many family members who knew her so well had so many important things to say, so I never bothered anyone with my own thoughts.  There are at least two moments from that event that I want to remember.

I was unsure whether or not Novalie should be allowed in for the viewing, since I’ve always thought it to be a bizarre ritual, but she really wanted to go in.  After viewing Grandma Jolley, Novalie became a little sad.  “I miss Grandma Jolley,” she said.  She never met Great Grandma Jolley, but that didn’t matter to Novalie – Novalie feels an instant bond with any and all relatives.  After the funeral, Novalie drew a picture of herself holding hands with Grandma Jolley.

Later, when taking hold of the casket as part of my pallbearer duties, a very clear sentence was spoken inside my mind:  “Grandma, it is an honor for me to lift you now with all the respect I have.”  Those words came to me almost involuntarily, by some wise part of my brain that only surfaces on rare occasions.

219

I made such a big deal about 239, you’d think I’d be in full celebration at hitting 219 lbs., but I forgot to mention it.  This puts me back at my pre-Decagon weight, and maybe even as far back as the year 2000.  I just have to remind myself that when I first ballooned to 220 lbs., I felt ridiculously fat and was sure I’d never allow myself to get any fatter.  I’ve been coasting for a couple of weeks now, since 220 was a big goal for me.  Now it’s time to take the helm once again and chart my way down to 210.