I had the great joy of being with my two sons and their families this past Thanksgiving in Dallas, Texas. I arrived on Saturday, November 17th, for Tom’s 47th birthday. My younger son, Mike, and my 7-year-old grandson, Mikey, arrived at the airport 30 minutes after my plane landed. My heart burst open with love and joy when I saw the happiness on Mikey’s face when he saw me walking toward him at the baggage claim area. After we gathered up our luggage, we headed outside to Tom’s car with more joyful greetings and hugs. I was feeling immense gratitude that we would be spending our first Thanksgiving together since my sons became parents.
We drove a short distance to a fast food restaurant where we joined my awesome daughter-in-law, Tuey, her mother and my sweet granddaughter, Kayla. My grandkids greeted one another with squeals of laughter and hugs while we videotaped it. My grandkids climbed in the back seat of Tuey’s car with me while my sons drove off together in Tom’s car.
We all headed to Fort Worth to witness the tree lighting ceremony at the town center which was quite impressive. We arrived too late for a Santa visit and then decided to have dinner at a nearby restaurant. There was over an hour wait at all the restaurants in the downtown area due to the huge crowd. We headed away from the hustle and bustle and found a charming pizzeria to fill our hungry stomachs.
The next day was Kayla’s 6th birthday and we celebrated at Dave and Busters. It was my first visit to this restaurant and all the machines and noise overwhelmed me. The food was excellent and watching my grandchildren play and laugh made for a wonderful day.
Our Thanksgiving meal turned out great as we all helped to put it together. I gave thanks to my son and his lovely wife for opening their home on my favorite holiday. The remainder of my visit was filled with my grandchildren playing as we visited the zoo, arboretum, trampoline playground and, of course, a visit to Santa.
Mikey … Mary … Kayla
Tuey’s Mom … Tuey
My Sons … Tom … Mike