Truly...It just doesn't get any better than Thanksgiving at The Ranch....The years come and go...Seasons of life pass and pass and leave me in their wake...To wonder at the changing scene that surrounds me... But The Ranch remains...Unchanged...Lovely...Whispering of days long gone...And the existence of livestock, vaqueros, and the medicine man who dwelt in the mountain caves...I can feel the presence of my grandfather who slept on the porch with his bottle of Wild Turkey whiskey on the ground next to his cot...His beautiful, beloved daughter..My Mother...Calls to me...Longing to hold me in her arms once more..Tears fight to fall as I long so badly for those hugs and kisses that only she could give.... I am jolted back to a joyful now....Babies,toddlers, cousins, and siblings fill my heart with such big love...Pure unadulterated joy!!!....Fabulous, bipolar roller coaster of emotion....
Hugs are shared as the families keep arriving....The kitchen is busy with the preparations as each person puts the finishing touches on their contribution...The counter is set...The drinks are poured ...Spanish guitar plays gently in the background...The blessing is shared with a mass of bowed heads...The Lord God smiles...He is dearly loved amongst these children of His...We are grateful...The love we have for Him and each other... A treasure...
We eat....SO GOOD!...Now it is time to just be...together... Sometimes on the porch...Or maybe on the wall...Inside watching sports...Walking...On a blanket in the grass....Oh so many spots that are SO not in the city...Jason brought his tricked out Rhino to add to the ATV his Uncle Marc has at the ranch...The toddlers can't get enough... Dad's, Uncles and Grandpas drive them on endless road trips up and down the field..dogs and horses alternately following and scattering in a dusty cloud of hoof and paw... Cameras click in an attempt to help us hold these moments in our hearts' memory...
Too soon...The sun is setting in a glorious last burst of loving light...OH the painful, wonderful thing it is to be in such a place...Such a moment... BLESSED....
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