I failed this go round in sharing those things for which I'm thankful.   Too busy and distracted this season, Thanksgiving snuck up on me much like it does any unassuming turkey.

So it's now, the morning after and 988 miles later that I sit at my breakfast table, pop my camera card into my computer and let it sink in just how blessed I am.

I could go crazy, now that I'm in hyper-thanksgiving mode (I've always been a day late) but I'm going to narrow my thankfulness to

 -a Thanksgiving week in retrospect

 

I'm thankful for five different pies at the desert table, enough left over for a slice of chocolate for breakfast

I'm thankful for leaves more fun than a Barbie right out of the box or a tube of lip gloss just opened

for pictures that slow you down, bring you in tight and beg for a smile even when you think you'd rather be doing something else

and for that one picture that makes you catch your breath and say deep down, "When did she grow into this beauty, and how could I not have noticed?"

for family that's not family

and teenage boy spit fights in the hot tub

for cousin sleepovers

and grandparents that are a wealth of wisdom, full of stories better than the ones in books

for sweet surrender in the nephew who let down his (picture-hating) guard long enough for you to capture one moment 

and cousins who are more like sisters and friends

I'm thankful for 87th birthdays

and being renamed "Cousin Mama"

for tickle fights intense enough to leave drool marks

for a home that waits unchanged

for that which grows old and a mess but holds in it treasures from magical days

for rays of sun that warm when the ground is cold and hard on your bare feet

I am thankful for beauty overwhelming that lasts a moment

but stays tucked in your heart forever.