GRAVETTE — We’re heading in to the last month of 2009 and we echo the thoughts of a friend who said Sunday, “My, where has this year gone?” Yes, it does seem to have flashed by pretty quickly. As November wound down we looked back and reflected on all we had for which to be thankful. It’s traditional at this season of harvest to count our blessings. Hopefully we’ll maintain our “attitude of gratitude” throughout the year.

I sent a few Thanksgiving greeting cards and was getting low on stamps so I dropped by the post office on my way to work Monday morning. The new holiday stamps were already in so I purchased a book of each design. It was a long day at work and I went to the hospital to visit Mama before going home. I was grateful that Jim had a big pot ofwarm split peas and ham waiting when I arrived.

I worked a few hours at the office Tuesday morning, then went to the revenue office to renew my car tag. I checked with Mama’s doctor at the clinic and visited Mama at the hospital before going home for a quick lunch and a trip to the grocery store. The mail carrier brought Thanksgiving cards with welcome news from friends in Florida and Tulsa.

I received a call from Dr. Jones early Wednesday morning with the good news that Mama was being released from the hospital. I dropped by the library to visit with the staff and donate a book before going to pick her up. That evening I prepared Kung Pao chicken with rice and baked a pecan pie.

I baked a pumpkin pie Thursday morning. A recent Cooking Cornercolumn tells us that the pumpkin’s deep orange color “hints at a rich store of beta carotene, a vitamin A precursor associated with reduced cancer risk. Pumpkin contains goodly amounts of the mineral potassium and the roastedseeds are a mighty mineral source in themselves, surrounding magnesium, iron and zinc with a delicately nutty taste.” Nice to know that something we like so well is so good for us!

We revived a tradition from our younger days and spent part of the morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. We enjoyed pork roast, mashed potatoes and corn with accents of cranberry sauce and olives. We got the call that evening saying Aunt Leta had been admitted to the hospital.

Sister Nancy came down to stay with Mama while I went to work Friday morning. After work I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and went home to bake a ham. I made a brief visit to Leta at the hospital and returned to dust, run the vacuum and clean off the dining room table. Niece Laura and her son Austin came by for a short visit.

Brother Richard, both my sisters, several nieces and nephews came to have dinner with Mama on Saturday while Jim and I joined son Joe, Heather and the grandkids. They prepared Cajun turkey breasts, gravy, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole and rolls and we took my ham and Jim’s mashed potatoes. After our delicious meal I took a walk with granddaughter Alyssa and nephew Jason dropped by for a visit. We visitedwith Richard when we got home and listened to the Hogs game on the radio.

We joined friends for breakfast in Southwest City Sunday morning and when we returned Jim put Saturday’s turkey carcass on to boil. Later he chopped onions, celery, carrots and potatoes while I picked the meat from the bones and we made a pot of tasty turkey soup. We listened to a short portion of the Hogs basketball game but spent most of the afternoon watching football games as the rain fell softly outside.

Opinion, Pages 4 on 12/02/2009