Giving Thanks
Posted by: TammyI know it’s been a few weeks. My apologies. Thanksgiving was a busy time and it was stressful. My dear friend, Stephanie, in Tennessee was having a hard time. Her mother-in-law had a series of strokes and she and her husband spent the better part of that Thanksgiving week at the hospital. It was a very hard week, emotionally and physically as we all prayed, knowing we had to accept God’s will but knowing it wouldn’t be easy. In the end, Brian’s mom passed away.
I wanted to be there for Brian and Steph and I was able to find an awesome deal on a plane ticket to TN. If you have some flexibility in your schedule, Travelocity’s Web Fares, can be a source of great deals! Don’t forget to look for coupon codes as well. I was able to find the deal for Delta through Travelocity but I ended up buying through CheapOAir.com because they had online coupons and their site wasn’t experiencing trouble like Travelocity that day.
So, I flew to TN! I have never flown alone and I haven’t flown in over 12 years (not since 9/11). I was excited and stressed all at the same time. LOL! But I did it! Stephanie was waiting there at the airport for me and seeing her smiling face brought on a torrent of joyful tears. Stephanie and I are always thankful that the Lord saw fit to bring us together. I was so thankful to have this time with her.
I flew in on Saturday and I got to enjoy lunch at Sonics. I know that Sonics might be nothing for some of you but we don’t have them here in CT. I loved watching the girl roller skate out with our order! I tried my first cherry limeade drink. Then we got donuts at Richie Kremes. A small mom and pop place that makes absolutely fantastic, mouthwatering, tender donuts. Oh man… yeah, they’re like those Krispy Kremes BUT they made donuts like this before the big franchise came along and we don’t have a Krispy place here anymore either. Oh and then we celebrated Brians birthday and his dad’s birthday by going to Sticky Fingers! Yep, they only have those in TN, too. We tried them out when we visited in April and the boys fell in love with Memphis style ribs. If I ever move to TN, I’ll gain 15 pounds. At least. LOL!
Sunday was wonderful. Steph and Brian always talk about their church in Clearwater. My first experience in a Southern Baptist church. What a joy and blessing to share fellowship with such a wonderful faith community. Another wonderful blessing in my life.
Steph and I always joked about how we wished we could have a day to sit all day, drink tea, crochet and knit and watch Stargate (yeah, we’re huge fans). Well, this was our plan for Monday, except we didn’t know that Stargate was going to be on! I joked with Steph that the only thing that would absolutely make the day perfect was if Stargate was on and Steph checked and could not believe that it really was on! So we sat, watched Stargate, drank sweet tea (oh man, they make it SAWEEEEET down there!) and crocheted and knitted the entire day. We gave thanks to the Lord for blessing us with such a wonderful day together.
I know this doesn’t appear to be all about frugality but in a way it is. First, we have no debt other than the house which allowed us the flexibility to book a plane ticket. We have no debt because of our frugal living. I found a tremendous deal on the ticket using online resources. I can’t begin to tell you how priceless a day with my dear friend was. Stephanie and I didn’t spend a penny on our dream day together but it was more valuable than any physical item we could have bought. With these tough economic times, the same attitude can be brought to the table of many homes. It’s not about the physical things we have but the time we get to spend together with each other.
- Tags: friends, value of friendship