Gratitude

The lead up to Thanksgiving this year was kind of like the whole of November--a little off. I found out Nacho would be home that day early enough to have made plans to travel with or without him. But with Mia getting her wisdom teeth out that week, it seemed wise to perhaps skip that whole affair and stay put. So we started thinking about our holiday weekend in two parts. Nacho would be off most of the beginning of the week and then had to go to London on Black Friday so I'd be alone with the girls for the rest of it. I couldn't really get motivated to do much of anything except survive the onslaught of weekend photo work that was beginning to pick up. This time of year is always so tricky for me in that there is so much going on that I want to enjoy and yet it's my busiest time for family photos. Mostly I love taking the odd assignment here or there and it always seems to work itself out, but there are weeks when I'm glad to have a little break. Thanksgiving week there was already one family reunion and then a reschedule shoot from a week earlier. But the weather held out so I wasn't too upset about having to shuffle things and I am thankful for having friends around who help me manage the girls when I'm working. This year I've found more of a rhythm with asking for and accepting help and that has been a blessing. It's so much easier when you lighten the load. 

Fifth Avenue blockades post election near Trump Tower...protests daily. I still love NYC

LIC views after picking up the kids from Carmen's

Carolina's new name: Flexa. Why? Because she's flexible. 

Carolina made this at school. When I asked her why she included God, and what that means, she said, "God is a very special person." Okay then.

The week leading up to Thanksgiving might not have been too stressful, but there was still a lot to do the day of and we weren't even sure if we were having guests or not. Carmen and family made other arrangements, Jose and Irene were out of town and Joan and Pepe were trying to sort out other invitations with just hours to go. I knew I was making the whole meal whether we had company or not, but keeping it simple meant I was really just cooking for myself. And that's always a joy. So really the giant turkey and the pies were just part of my Thanksgiving therapy. Pie therapy. Yes, I like the sound of that. In the end, we had the Spaniards over and we enjoyed their company and another viewing of "Elf" very much. My gravy wasn't as delicious as the year before, but hey, there's always next year. I hope we'll see family again soon but sitting this one out was okay. We made it to the balloons the night before and the rest of the weekend promises to be nice and chill. So thankful for a lot this year and ready to see what December has in store.