This week’s edition is courtesy of Timber …
What is your favorite childhood memory?
Oh, why did I announce last week I was choosing this one? Just kidding Timber 
Just a tad brain dead here to get this up on Tuesday … so, because of my response, I decided to save it for Thanksgiving Day …
My favorite childhood memory … I think it would have to be the holiday celebrations with my dad’s side of the family. It was the one time when most of the siblings (four of the five), their children, and the great-grandchildren got together. Usually Easter (all five siblings and most their families), sometimes Thanksgiving, and always at Christmas (four of the five). For years, it was always at my grandparents’ house, which is next door to where my parents now live — I spent weekends at their house, but rarely were any of the great-grandchildren down so I’d have someone to play with (you see, my dad’s the baby and he waited until his 30s to marry and start a family, so age-wise, I fall in with the oldest half of the great-grandchildren).
Thanksgiving usually resulted in the smallest group showing up — my dad and mom (and me until my brother came along), his older sister and her husband, sometimes their daughters and grandson, and a few times one or both of my dad’s older brothers and their wives. Maybe once or twice the oldest sister came.
But my favorite memories were always with my aunt’s grandson — my favorite cousin who’s two years younger than me. Thanksgiving was when my Mama (pronounced mah-maw) would put the bowl out so we could draw names for the Christmas exchange. Me and Justin would always wait until no one was really paying us much attention and we’d dig through the bowl until we found each other’s names 
One year his parents and him didn’t come, so my aunt ‘rigged’ it so we swapped anyway!
And since today is Thanksgiving, I thought I’d also answer the question I asked all of you in the Third Monday Giveaway … What am I most thankful for this year?
Of course, I’m thankful for the obvious things — God, my family, a roof over my head, food to eat, a pretty secure job in a field where there’s little impact from the economy, wonderful friends, lovable pets. I’m also thankful my car is finally fixed after three trips this month to the dealership (as well as fully repaired from September’s wreck) and that I wasn’t seriously injuried in that accident. I’m thankful I haven’t had any serious health problems. I’m also thankful for the ability to have a side business and for the clients who’ve chosen me to document a moment in their lives this year. I’m thankful that I am able to afford to sink the money I have (from my day job) into said side business so I have the opportunity to grow. I’m thankful to have made the photography related contacts this year and for the ideas that have been inspired that I hope to implement in the next few months. And I’m thankful for the visitors to this site who choose to come back or add me to their blog/feed readers.
So … that said, I hope all of you have/had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I hope to have up some freebie deals for Freebie Friday tomorrow that are good beyond Black Friday … if you see something I should add, leave me a comment or email me at girl [at] 5foot4 [dot] org!
