Thanksgiving 2012

A spleen is part of the immune system, and it's kind of a “filter” system for the blood. As an adult, a spleen is not a vital organ. However, as an infant the spleen is a vital organ because their immune system is very naïve. Since Lucas does not have a spleen, his immune system will be extremely delicate and we'll have to take many extra precautions to prevent him from being exposed to germs that most kids could easily handle. At least for the first three years, we won't be able to tote him along with us to Wal-Mart, or pack him in a car and drive him to Vancouver or Biggs. Realistically, we won't be able to do any major traveling for 3 years after Lucas is born.

With the holidays approaching, we decided that we should do everything we could to visit my family in Vancouver and Melissa's family in Biggs. I managed to get 9 days off of work for Thanksgiving, so we packed up the kiddos and drove to Biggs for some family time. Melissa's family is amazing. They all hang out together, decorate for holidays, pitch in when anybody needs anything, and generally exist in harmony. When someone says “what's mine is yours” I never really believe that they are being sincere. But, with the Smiths, you can count on it. Melissa's father Barry is the kind of guy who would walk on hot coals for someone in his family. Every time I visit him, he gives me a big hug and wants to show me all of the projects he has done around the house. He has a small garage filled with tools, and he has told me on several occasions that his tools are my tools. Melissa's brother John is the same way. Once, about 7 of us guys decided it would be a good idea to go out in the street and play football. I was wearing dress pants, a collared shirt, and black leather dress shoes. After about 5 minutes, I asked John if he had a pair athletic shoes he could loan me for a couple of hours. He returned with a brand new pair of “turf” golf shoes. They didn't have little metal spikes- just tiny rubber bumps on the bottom. When I say brand new, I mean that the cardboard was still inside the shoes and one of the shoes hadn't been laced up. I told him that I didn't want to destroy his fancy golf shoes but he insisted. We bickered for a while about it- but he ended up winning. A lot of people think the word “generous” means someone who spends a lot of money on someone else. That's not true. That's just someone who throws money around. Melissa's family is the true meaning of generous. My folks treat me like that too, but I think most people are like that with their kids- they'd their kids anything they needed. It's just amazing that Melissa's family treats ME like that. I'm the in-law. I didn't meet them until I was over 30 years old. But, they treat me like I grew up in the same house as all of them and I'm certain that any of them would literally give me the shirt off their back.

After spending a day with the Smiths, we drove up to Vancouver to see my parents and my sister Heidi. It rained like crazy between Medford and Salem, Oregon. I grew up in the rain, so I know what hard rain is like. This was the kind of rain where you wish your windshield wipers had an “extra fast” setting.

We arrived late at night and my parents were so happy to see us. I really miss my parents and Heidi a lot. Being able to travel to Vancouver was very important to me. I knew ahead of time that we wouldn't be able to return for a long time, so I did my best to enjoy the time I had with them while I was there. Mom made her delicious salads and pastas for us every night and we all had fun spending each day together until we left on the day after Thanksgiving. The drive back was long but easy. Hats off to Stella and Anthony. They win the road trip children of the year awards.