11/28/14. The post where I am reminded of the power of positive thinking.

11/28/14: it was a Thanksgiving for the ages.  My patient, long-suffering husband did most of the heavy lifting and cooked an amazing meal.  Our entire family was there, including my godparents, so it felt really special.  Some of us did a 5K "Turkey Trot" in the morning, and I got through it without too much trouble.  As I expected, the walk didn't come anywhere near making up for everything I ate, but I guess it was better than not doing anything.  

Like most families, we spent the rest of the evening watching football, chatting, and complaining about how much we had eaten while continuing to snack.  All four nieces and nephews from my side of the family were there - ages 19, 14, two, and eight months.  As you know, I try to protect everyone's privacy on my blog, so I won't include any photos.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you I have the best nieces and nephews in the history of ever.  It was truly a day to be thankful.  

We spent a little bonus time with Mom and Dad this morning, then after lunch (because, of course, we needed more food) we packed up and planned our escape route.  There are three outlet malls between their house and ours, so traveling on Black Friday was a bit of a gamble.  We took a route that, while a bit longer, would avoid the first one.  The traffic got a little heavy before the second one, but we got through it without much of a slowdown.  Another hour and half to the next one, so we had some breathing room.  Or so we thought.  About five miles after the second mall, things suddenly came to a screeching halt - literally.  There was an accident on a part of the freeway where there was construction going on and concrete barriers on either side, which meant no shoulder.  Of course, at the time, we did not know there was an accident.  All we knew was there was a sea of vehicles at a complete standstill.  Three lanes of traffic were diverted onto the frontage road, and chaos ensued.  After about forty-five minutes of inching forward and trying not to wish ill on any of the vehicles around us, we got past the remains of the accident, which by that time was just some broken glass and a few emergency vehicles.  It did not appear there were any serious injuries, another thing for which I am thankful.

We made it past the final outlet mall with no difficulty and got home at a reasonable hour.  My patient, long-suffering husband practiced for a concert he is playing tomorrow while I went to the grocery store for dinner fixings.  And the evening of Black Friday is the best time to go to the grocery store.  Seriously.  I wish I had made a list of everything I needed for the next month, because I was nearly alone in the store.  I started to get concerned that there had been some sort of catastrophe in the city and no one had told me.  The store was so empty that when I asked an employee for the location of an item I couldn't find, he followed me around the store looking for it just because he was "curious" about where it was.  

We spent a nice, quiet evening at home. My foot has felt a little better the last few days, but off and on it has been pretty distracting.  I always try to keep a positive attitude and I am convinced it makes me feel better.  I came across an article tonight that makes me feel justified.  http://www.rsds.org/1/publications/review_archive/BruelCBT.html. While the article is specific to CRPS, it seems like it would also be relevant for other types of physical pain and injuries.  So call me Pollyanna (just like my patient, long-suffering husband does), but I'm going to keep thinking positively.  And I encourage you to do the same.