Giving Thanks for Family

This Thanksgiving was a special one for my family. Usually, as a military spouse, Thanksgiving is a time for your military family. Not your blood relatives. And don’t get me wrong. I don’t assume that our family will come to where ever we are for a long weekend. Especially one that is a super-busy travel time. No, I don’t think so.

Being with your military family is great. Don’t get me wrong. But this year my in-laws flew in from New Hampshire and my father and stepmom drove down from Connecticut. My mother and her husband were also supposed to drive with them but mom had bronchitis and that waylaid her from the festivities. My little brother lives out here so we have been counting on him in attendance for the three Thanksgivings that have happened. Not only that, but both of my kids came home for that time. That was a treat and a half!

Talk about being grateful. My heart was overflowing with joy. So much so that I didn’t take any photos of the time we spent together. I had to rely on others. My kids would tell me that I was shirking my responsibilities as a blogger. They are right but I was too busy enjoying the moment to think about it.

I know that the past Thursday was the last time we will all be together again for a while. My oldest daughter is living in Seattle and depending on work, she may or may not be able to come home again. My youngest daughter is getting ready to graduate from the Air Force Academy and she will go off to CSO (Combat Systems Officer) training. That means that next year, she’ll be in school.

So as I sat at the dinner table, I said a silent prayer for all that I had this year. I hope you had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did.

DC Red Cross “Salute to Service” Gala

Another exciting weekend here in the National Capital Region. I got to attend the Red Cross DC gala. Hubby hates getting dressed up but I simply love it. I think it’s wonderful to get into a gown and walk around in heels all night. Alright, maybe I’m lying about that last part but I do love getting fancy.

So back to the gala. My girlfriend works for the Red Cross and she needed more bodies to fill the seats for their “Salute to Service” event. So I informed hubby that he would be wearing his mess dress and taking me out on Saturday night.

During the open bar cocktail hour, there was an auction to look at. There were sports memorabilia, vacation packages, wine gift bags as well as military items. My spouse ended up bidding on a beautiful piece of airplane nose art. The artist was on hand to answer any questions we had. Hubby lost the auction because someone didn’t bother bidding, they just used the “Buy it now” option. I thought we dodged that bullet but he took the artist’s brochure so now we can have one custom-made (yay us!).

The gala was eye-opening. I had forgotten all the areas that the Red Cross covers. They participate in blood drives, disaster relief and classes. One speaker updated us on how devastating the California wildfires were. From 10 minutes earlier! Technology is cool!

There are amazing people who donate not only their time but their money too. Blood drives are in high demand right now. The hurricanes made the need great but having the California wildfires increased that exponentially, especially since all those planned blood drives on the West Coast had to be cancelled because of their own tragedy.

So donate your blood, donate your time, donate your money. The Red Cross and America needs you.