Still Thankful

I'm a bit late about Thanksgiving, but I was busy spending my time being thankful.

I never wanted a child, but I'm really happy to be an aunt. I get to see my niece and nephew every few months, often enough that we're comfortably familiar, rarely enough that it's always a special occasion. It's pretty much ideal.

So, having done most of the shopping (though I forgot a few things), I spent most of Thanksgiving playing with my niece and nephew. We started with pancakes, then played with Legos, baked a few biscuits, more Legos. Meanwhile, my sibling cooked. Can you imagine a better holiday than being at home, playing Legos, while someone else does the hard part of cooking? We did help a bit. And then a friend of mine joined us for dinner! My sib is a really good cook; what he cooks isn't fancy, but it's really, really good.

After dinner we played a board game, 221 B Baker Street; it's a mystery game, and pretty good as such things go. It helps that I'm still ahead of the kids about puns and nastiness, and stuff in games, because I like to win. (Everyone in my family likes to win, and thus we all learn to be cheerful losers at games.)

Friday we started with French toast, then a movie, then we decorated gingerbread houses. One of the great things about being the aunt is that my most wonderful in law got me a house to decorate, too. Among the rest, we had some leftovers. And played more games. The ticklebug made frequent visits, too. I got some dog therapy time, a few short walks and plenty of petting.

Today we were back to pancakes, and then worked on my niece's homework, making a video for school. It went pretty well, and we got a few funny bits in with the book-reportish stuff. And then they left, and I went out for a quick bike ride.

Now, as I turn to grading, I'm grateful for the fun of it all, and grateful that I still have leftovers in the fridge!