Thanksgiving 2.0
Well I made it through another thanksgiving. Some probably think I mean the grandparents
or in-laws coming in, or perhaps young children doing what they do around fine
china and crystal. Nope, I mean I am living
one year and three months after my surgery and diagnosis of colon cancer. That is no simple feat and I’m glad I’m
around to talk about it.
This week has been phenomenal. First I took Connor to his
very first Aggie football game. It was
the UTSA game last Saturday. It was cold
and windy. The section of the stadium in
which we were sitting had no direct sunlight.
We were in the “shaded” portion covered by the upper deck. So what would have been awesome seats in the
late summer and September turned into a blast chiller this November. But it was one day before Connor’s 8th
birthday and we had a great time…until halftime. By then, thankfully, Connor was cold and
tired. I say thankfully because even
though I was wearing a hat and lined gloves, the cold just came right
through. My fingers were literally
burning inside my gloves from the cold.
Nothing I did or could do would warm them up. But I would gut it out for my son.
We left and listened to the second half on the way home and
Connor was happy. He had candy in the
stadium and his iPad for the ride home. We’ll
check this off as a successful adventure.
We didn’t get to tailgate with anyone, the 11AM game was a bit early for
everyone, but at least we were able to win this game.
Sunday was the beginning of a new tradition for our
neighborhood. Remember how awesome I
told you my neighbors were? Well, we
decided to have a “Friends-giving” party.
About 12 families got together and pitched in with turkey and a whole
mess of sides and pies. For the kids we
put up a jumpy castle. The kids ran
around and played and the adults just enjoyed visiting and watching the
kids. We had a bunch of outdoor tables
set up like a long Peanuts style table and the only thing missing was popcorn,
jelly beans and toast. It was
wonderful. It was also Connor’s official
birthday and Nita brought him a cupcake.
Everyone serenaded him and he was all smiles. The kids then raided the dessert table.
Monday I took the kids to an arcade. I took the entire week off to be with them
and we all had a blast. I don’t take
holidays for granted anymore, so we squeezed every ounce of fun out we
could. I tied up some loose ends for our
tournament and dinner/auction coming in. Can you believe it is just one week
away? By the way, about the raffle
tickets. There are several left, but
once they are sold out, there are no reprints.
We intentionally kept the volume low to increase winning percentage and
hopefully excitement. The purpose? Well since I probably won’t be around the “ladies”
raffle with the diamond as a prize will fun my daughter’s wedding. The “dudes” raffle will fund my son’s
honeymoon and perhaps part of a down payment on his house (if interest rates
ever go back up). In any case, I want
these to be gifts from beyond to let the kids know that I was and will always
be watching, loving, and helping them…no matter what. https://martinezfamilycancerfoundation.org/dinner-auction/raffles/
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| Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders donated a signed boot and picture to the auction |
Wednesday we went to see the movie Trolls. It was cute and had Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake. The kids liked it and it was basically an
animated pitch perfect without the mashups.
We then just played and watched another fun movie at home for
dinner. Thanksgiving was a very fun and
calm event for us. I set our table
(because I like doing that) and we ate like kings. The blessing this year was about friends,
family, life, and time together. No big
shock I suppose, but also not skipping over the little things that really
matter when you get right down to it. I
thanked God for another holiday together.
I know that these moments are so precious and I can’t believe how many I
had taken for granted before.
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| Right before the movie...before the popcorn and m&ms. |
My book is currently in the hands of several editors and I’m
getting pretty good reviews. I think
some of them picked up the blog about halfway and hadn’t gone back from the
beginning and are now seeing the entire story linearly. I’ve also been given
feedback that linear books are not very sexy in the industry. So nothing to report yet, but it might get
re-arranged to take on a Tarantino flashback circular type of flow, who knows.
But what I can tell you is that it will get printed and published even if I
have to self-publish.
Well here we are at Friday. (I didn’t do my homework this
week and am writing it all today – sorry). Thanksgiving is over which means
Christmas begins. Rupert, our elf, is ready
to make an entrance tonight and next Saturday we’ll go throw trees as is our neighborhood
tradition. Oh, and I found out some good
news. My CEA score is nothing to freak
out about. Turns out that the oncology
group I use was expanding and upgrading some equipment. So several of the CEA scores were fluctuating
a bit. Apparently within an acceptable
range. My oncologist and his nurse were
not shocked or concerned with my number last week. They said to wait and see
what the scores are for the next couple of weeks. So that is great news.
This next weekend is my tournament and event. I suppose we’ve
crossed enough “Ts” and dotted enough “Is” to make this thing successful. I had some celebrities confirm their commitments
and we’re ready to roll. My team has
done an amazing job of PR, handling the details, getting auction items,
reaching out to sponsors, and creating a fun and kid friendly event. I wish I could list them all, but there are
too many to thank here. But I
affectionately call them my ROCKS and I love them dearly. Thank you Rocks!
So I hope to see many of you next Sunday or Monday. I’m still above ground, I’m still kicking,
and I’m thankful. I am thankful that my
children are enjoying our time together.
I’m thankful that my mother and Nita’s mother are still around to share
holidays with us. I’m thankful that my
friends and neighbors are so amazing and our kids all play well together. I’m thankful for the amazing generosity of
time and effort that has been showered upon my family. I’m thankful for friends near and far who
will be flying or driving in for the event.
Finally, I’m thankful for all of you.
I hope each of you can find a way to remain calm and peaceful during this
election and holiday season.
Life is what you make of it, you can change what you do, you
can embrace it, but you don’t get do-overs.
Like the hand in the running stream analogy, it keeps moving. You only get one chance to kiss your wife or
your child on a specific birthday. The
next day it is gone. My dad also used to
tell me, “You can’t change what happens to you, only how you react to it.” So my advice is to go make someone’s day
today. Tell someone you love them, even
a stranger. Okay, maybe not on black Friday. That might get you in a fight depending on
your tone. But go seize the day. Take chances today, look at your trashed home
and instead of thinking “awe man, I’ve got to clean all this shit up” perhaps
think, “wow, look at how lucky I am to have all this shit.” And I love you,
Happy Thanksgiving! TeamMarco@austin.rr.com
Sending much love your way. Praying. Believing. <3
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