Constable: How I'm thankful for my (no longer teenage) sons and so much more this year
On Thanksgiving 24 years ago, my wife, Cheryl, gave birth and launched our family on the hectic, amazing, wonderful parental pilgrimage that now includes sons Ross, Ben and Will. I've been sharing that tale with readers every Thanksgiving since. Food, family, friends and even football for some people are part of Thanksgiving, but it truly is a day when we are reminded to give thanks for what we have. This year, I am thankful for:
• The way Ross phoned from Los Angeles, Ben called from New Orleans, and Will dialed in via WhatsApp from his semester in India to talk with us last week on the day their beloved Grandma Lois died.
• The way the boys bring up memories of their Grandma Jean, Grandpa Willy, Uncle Bill and now Grandma Lois in thoughts that always make me smile.
• Ben's willingness to serve wherever he was needed for his AmeriCorps education gig with City Year, and the greater thanks of Ben and his eager-to-visit parents when what appeared to be a year in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ended up being a job in New Orleans instead.
• The way Will manages to respond to texts quicker than his stateside brothers, even while hiking in the Himalayas during his college semester abroad.
• The broadened horizons of our filmmaker Ross, who worked on TV commercials for the NFL this fall and will leave soon to edit footage from Damian Marley's Jamrock Reggae Cruise to Jamaica.
• The bittersweet feeling of no longer having any teenage sons.
• Visits to Grandpa Paul, who still harbors hope that one of his seven grandkids will be a 6-footer.
• The last of wisdom teeth removals.
• The example set by sisters Sally and Nancy, who made trips to Indiana to care for our mom, and by sisters-in-law Karen and Laurie, who provide similar loving care for their dad.
• The way my beautiful wife juggled the schedules of her dad and my mom, and all three of our sons, to carve out a few days in May when we could visit Sedona, Arizona, and the Grand Canyon for our first family vacation in years.
• The way Ross builds a new life in Los Angeles without forgetting his Midwestern roots.
• Not seeing the photos of Will hiking in treacherous waist-deep snow through Indrahar Pass at an elevation of 14,245 feet until after he returned to his studies in Dharamshala.
• Ross' tolerance for working 16-hour days.
• Ben's tolerance for classrooms with more than 30 kids.
• The passion for physics, math and learning that makes Ben spend extra time teaching kids about robotics in an after-school program.
• The mindfulness path where Will's passion for health, the environment and animal rights got Cheryl and me to switch from milk to oat milk, while we work on eating better.
• The subtle realization that, as time passes, our parents need us more, and our kids need us less.
• The boys' willingness to make the extraordinary effort to get home for Christmas.
As our family celebrates today, we hope you and yours can compose a similar list for which to give thanks.