<p>What a great thread! Thank you. I also have many and do try to cherish them.</p>
<p>One was watching the Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee Kay his hands on my daughter’s head and ordain her to the Priesthood. I think I stopped breathing.</p>
<p>Another one, which MaineLonghorn shares in, was a few weeks ago. My women’s Internet running community came together to support one of our members who is battling cancer- again. We all submitted pictures and brief text and of our ladies- in Scotland- put it all together in a picture book. It was just the most moving thing. I looked through it for the first time online early one morning before my run and them stepped out my front door to a glorious sunrise and a bunny! Bunnies are my God symbol. It was just so cool.</p>
<p>So many, but most recent: Last minute Rosh Hashanah meal at my cousin, just after her husband got an ‘all-clear’ to cancer-free lymph modes. The kids, their spouses or s/o, at least 8 of us, spent last thursday sitting together while he was in 7 hour surgery. The holiday meal was a delight.</p>
<p>Visiting my son at Mountain View 2 weeks ago, and knowing how much he liked his internship. Such a welcome change from the grind of grad school.</p>
<p>Talking to a client today with sleep issues, and how she slept in parents’ bed until 9. That’s a little old, but I remembered when son was 4 or 5, with his best friend sleeping over, and I woke to find both little boys asleep, horizontically, at edge of my bed. They grow up so fast…</p>
<p>oh yes, I remember running down the street with college letter. That was 2005; so many ups and downs since then.</p>
<p>Our youngest was not a scholarly (shall we say?) child. We will say that she was an under achiever in everything. Mr. Ellebud and I had “the” discussion about college and for many reasons thought that one of our local universities would be the best. </p>
<p>Before anyone says…YOU decided?! Yes, we did and for good reasons. This university is EXTREMEly competitive. Ms. Ellebud wrote her essays and sneered and said they will never take me. It was “the” day. And the big envelope came. I called my husband at work and whispered, “Come home! She’s in!”</p>
<p>We stood at the bottom of the stairs and called, “GET DOWN HERE!!!” Ms. Ellebud looked very confused as she came out of her room (the how did I get caught? face).</p>
<p>I screamed, “You are in!!! Told you so!!!” I believe she touched on step on her way down.</p>
<p>And she is no longer an underachiever…it all worked out."</p>
<h1>16–Reminds me of the van in “Little Miss Sunshine.”</h1>
<p>So many memories–but does anyone else find that the strongest memories are the SAD ones?</p>
<p>Here are a couple happy ones–For my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago, my parents’ surviving sibs/in laws, nieces, nephews, friends (members of their wedding party), their seven children, plus their spouses, 23 grandchildren, neighbors, former co-workers etc. all showed up for a big reception in their backyard. (Many of them traveled long distances to be there.) The weather was perfect. My mom, who’d had a stroke a few months before that (and has never been “herself” since) disappeared for a few minutes toward the end of the party–and reappeared wearing her wedding dress. (My sister was embarrassed–she thought mom did this because she wasn’t in her right mind. . .) Everyone loved it!-- So much applause, laughter, everyone taking pictures with the “bride” . . (Mom’s health is a lot worse since then, but I’ll never forget the whole family, happy together then.)</p>
<p>When our third child was born at home, late in the evening, our two older kids were sleeping upstairs in our neighbor’s apartment. When they came in the next morning, I remember D1,(kid #2), 2 1/2, peeking over the edge of our bed and coming face to face with her newborn brother. She was wide-eyed, and said just one word: “Baby?!” (They are now 22 and 19)</p>
<p>Whe our kids were growing up, we always had a Shabbat dinner on Fri night. We started a tradition called " Special thing of the week". Everyone who could talk would share something special that happened that week. I remember many years of happy moments. The one that sticks out most is when our kids were quite young. The kids would each take a turn to do a blessing, but certain blessings were more coveted than others. I remember my youngest son running out of the room, screaming because he did not get his first choice, and sitting on the bottom step. I looked at my H and said," Will this ever end? " Now we are empty nesters and that son is getting a PhD paid for by the Department of Energy. Who knew?</p>
<p>Last Thanksgiving my recent college grad only child was able to get a few days off and come home. We decided our little family would have Thanksgiving by ourselves and skip the whole turkey thing…We settled on a menu featuring all my husband’s favorites. We had a great day at home together followed by a happy dinner filled with laughter. I remember thinking every Thanksgiving should be like this. A week later my husband was diagnosed with cancer and he passed away less than two months later. I now look upon that as “the last good day” and I am SO glad we had it together.</p>
<p>1) when I found out it was S2 who saved my life when I had the heart attack.
2) S1 came into say hello while I was in the middle of setting up his wedding decorations and coordinating the many wonderful volunteers who helped (including our own eddieodessa!). He caught me by surprise as he stood there in his kilt and just took my breath away. I was overwhelmed with joy and happy tears, and I never would have expected it at that moment.</p>
<p>Last Thanksgiving was D’s first major holiday away from home, and all of her housemates had scattered for the long weekend. Remembering my own first depressing holiday away from home, I was a little apprehensive for her. But she assured me she knew a few people who were spending the day on campus, and thought maybe they’d get together and do something.</p>
<p>Mid-afternoon on T-day, she texted me a picture. It was taken in her house. The kitchen table had been moved to the living room, and set for six with cloth napkins and candles! A roasted turkey sat proudly in the middle, surrounded by several side dishes. Standing around the table were five college kids, smiling at the camera and dressed for the occasion and obviously ready to dig into their Thanksgiving feast.</p>
<p>D told me the story later: The people still on campus had chatted the day before about going out together for Thanksgiving dinner, but discovered that one of them could cook a turkey, so they decided to throw a fancy bash instead. Some volunteered to bring sides, one contributed good dishes and napkins, D offered her kitchen and a table big enough for everyone. </p>
<p>I’m not sure why this was a golden moment for me, except that it made me really proud of her. It was her first fancy grown-up dinner party, and she and her friends did it without one word of input from any parent. That picture was the highlight of my own Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>my magical day was Christmas day 2009. when D was a HS junior and S was in 6th grade. It had already been a very, very snowy winter and it was still only December. We already had over 20 inches of snow on the ground and woke up to another 10 or 15 inches on that Christmas day.</p>
<p>We had two cars and a one car garage. One car was in the garage, the other in the drive way in order to be off the roads for the snow emergency. We woke up and did our presents, then sent the kids out to start shoveling. We were on a corner lot, so had sidewalks in two directions.</p>
<p>H decided to back up the car in the driveway in order to shovel around it better. He couldn’t do that, the doors had ended up frozen shut. So, we weren’t going anywhere for awhile that Christmas day.</p>
<p>We spent all day shoveling that snow and un freezing car doors so we could go somewhere.</p>
<p>I forgot to cook Christmas dinner. I remembered at about 4 pm when the kids came in to warm up and started playing one of their new Christmas games together. (when does an 11th grader ever want to play games with a 6th grader? she did happily and willingly that day).</p>
<p>I ended up ordering pizza from Casey’s, a gas station that also makes pizza to go. It was only two blocks from our house and was open. The kids went and picked it up and brought it home.</p>
<p>We still think that was one of our best Christmases ever.</p>
<p>My niece just posted a photo that sent me back to a golden moment from 29 years ago when she was just a few months old. My parents LOVED apple picking-every fall we drove to a local orchard and picked several bushels, then ate every possible apple dish for weeks. The above niece was the first grandchild so of course, my parents insisted we all go. By then 3 of the 5 siblings were married, there was the one grandchild, and my SIL and I were expecting. We held “C” up to feel the apples, sat her in a crate of pumpkins, and sat her in a tractor while we took photos. My parents were still young and healthy, and those of my generation all were happy and full of anticipation of the years to come. </p>
<p>We went apple picking both with and without my parents many times after that. But that one crisp, clear, New England day remains my favorite trip of them all.</p>
<p>another golden moment I have had recently is realizing that it has been 5 years since my D’s last serious health scare. It was a scary time for about 1½ years, with two major lung surgeries. Now it has been 5 years with no incidents. Maybe we are past it. :)</p>
<p>My two younger boys just gave me the gift of what will surely be a golden moment. They each are in NYC on separate business trips (they both live and work in DC, but separately). They just sent me a picture of the two of them having dinner and watching the football game together at a sports bar! I am so glad they are so close.</p>