Give Thanks

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful. We spent it at home, just the four of us (for most of the day as you will find out later). I was able to share one of my most unforgettable childhood memories with my children – The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

Growing up the youngest, I seldom got to choose what was watched on TV. It wasn’t often we watched the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving – either we were at someone else’s house, or they were at ours, or my brother won out on what got watched; but, I do remember being glued to the TV when the few years I was allowed to watch the parade. Now that I have children of my own, I want the Macy’s Parade to be our Thanksgiving family tradition. I misted up while watching Julie Andrews sing-speaking lyrics that goes with her new book "The Great American Mousical" co-authored with her daughter. (It's a pity her beautiful voice was ruined due to a botched surgery on her vocal chords.) I cheered with my children when we saw the balloons – Snoopy, Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo, Big Bird, and SpongeBob Squarepants. I hummed along with the Laurie Berkner Band (my favorite children’s band since being introduced to them on Noggin). I smiled when Danielle twirled around like a ballerina when she saw the "Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses" float. Scott and I were in the kitchen getting dinner prepared when the “Man in the Red Suit” appeared almost precisely at 12:00. Of course we had to stop what we were doing and rush in the den to cheer for Santa. My eyes became puddles again.

When the kids get old enough to listen, stand still without running off, not complain about how long it’s taking, and be able to tolerate cold weather for hours, I want to go to New York to see the Macy’s Parade. I want to be at Herald’s Square in the thick of it. (I wonder how much tickets cost to VIP stadium seating in front of Macy’s??) It will probably be quite a while before the children will be able to fully comply with my request. I can wait as long as it takes. I don’t care how cold it is, or whether it’s raining or snowing. I want to see the Macy’s Parade in New York one day and be able to extend our stay long enough to see the tree lit at Rockefeller Center.

We had dinner at noon because Scott had to leave for Italy due to his second job. The children were sad, but to brighten their spirits we watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special and Mary Poppins (other staples from my childhood). After seeing Julie Andrews in the Macy’s Parade, I had to hear her beautiful voice when it was in its prime. Although it was a rather long movie for a 5-1/2 and almost 4 year old, it held their attention. I couldn’t help the tear trickle down my check during “Feed the Birds” and laughed and clapped to the beat as my children were kicking up their heels to “Step in Time”. Danielle danced around in circles to “Go Fly a Kite”, which got Aden and I off our feet and we all held hands spinning in circles until I was so dizzy I thought I’d be sick.

It was a wonderful day – including naps all around after we took Scott to the airport.

Tomorrow I will be at my family’s house helping them decorate for Christmas and bake cookies. It’s a little too early for me to completely deck our house out, but will bring out our crèche and wreath for Advent. Before we had children, I was given a lovely gift of Advent devotionals and cardboard ornaments for kids. Although I'm not ready to put up our tree, it’s time to start preparing for the true meaning of the season.

Fish, Zoo, and Yoga

Aden and his Daddy have been fishing recently. Our pickup truck has now become a boat.



We went to the zoo last weekend. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather. We were able to see the sea lion training and penguin feeding. The kids especially liked the penguin feeding.


This gorilla just plopped right down on the other side of the glass observation area and had a snack right in from of us.


Daddy, Aden and Danielle watching the giraffes.


The kids like to try to excerise with me when I do my workout videos at home. Flipping through our cable excerise on demand channel, I saw Yoga for Kids. The kids loved it. There we were - the four of us with our butts in the air attempting "dog pose". It was fun to find a new activity to do together.

The only thing constant is change.

This past weekend I made a trip with the kids to Mt. Pleasant to see a friend. While there, we all had a picnic at Sullivan’s Island park.



Aden and I scaled the hill, the locals refer to as “the Mound”. The Mound was once Battery Capron, built in the late 1800’s to house 16 12-inch mortars. Growing up on the island, my friends and I would climb to the top of the hill with makeshift sleds of cardboard. Despite being repeatedly scratched by brambles and sand spurs all the way down, we do this again and again. The park has changed a lot since I was a kid but it was nice to see there were still scraps of cardboard scattered along the bottom of the Mound for kids to use for this purpose.

After seeing other children do it, Aden picked up a piece of cardboard with the intent of sliding down. About half-way up he chickened out. I don’t blame him. It’s a pretty steep and intimidating climb for a five-year-old. I think I was in the second grade before I got enough courage for my first slide down. I held his hand and we climbed to the top instead. The climb for me was much different. Although steep, the Mound didn’t seem as tall as I had remembered it as a child. Being a foot and a half taller and 20+ years older makes a lot of difference. I wasn’t prepared for the shock I received when I reached the top. They filled the bunker in with dirt! It was now flat on top (about the size of a child’s soccer field).

When I was little, the top of the Mound was enclosed by a 10-foot high fence to keep idiot children, such as myself, from falling over 30 feet to our deaths. The center of this old bunker used to be open - a huge circle arena made of concrete with iron ladders down. Think of looking down on a cistern, though storing liquid could not possibly be the purpose. Scrawny shrubs clung for dear life in the cracks of the concrete. At the bottom, you could see several entryways leading to underground tunnels. I know the bunker housed mortars, but I’m not exactly sure what the purpose was for the open area. Iron doors on the back-side of the Mound allowed entry to the underground tunnels. These doors were usually chained and padlocked to prevent homeless people from camping out in the caverns (or stupid children like me from exploring). The chains on the door and the fence on top were not enough to prevent either from happening, so I guess filling in the cistern-like opening was for the best for safety reasons.

I recently spoke to a friend of my mother’s who informed me our old house had been knocked down and a McMansion stands in its place. I had to go see it for myself, which was the main reason for going to the island. After out picnic, we went to go take a look.



The one-acre of land Mom once owned appears to have been subdivided, though the monolith that’s there now covers a good portion of the original acre. Our backyard neighbors had about ¾ of an acre and the water tower sat on about an acre and a half. The water tower is now gone and the alley along the entire strip of land is now no access. It was hard to see because of privacy fences and new trees how many McMansions were on that strip of land. I think there are four.

While I was trying to take pictures, I ran into one of our old neighbors. Bill Murray now bought the McMansion beside them. (Yes, Caddyshack Bill Murray.) Rumor has it Reese Witherspoon was to buy a house off of Station 18, but changed her mind. The neighbor I was talking to was saying their tiny strip of property is valued at 2 million. Not bad for a retired shrimper. I think the fact they are on the Intercoastal Waterway and have a dock is a major factor in the value. Although they are surrounded by mammoths on every side, they still live the same little house, and it doesn’t seem like they’re leaving. Good for them. Since Hurricane Hugo tore through in ‘89, I’ve seen how the Isle of Palms was raped and pillaged of its land. The far end of Sullivan’s Island is covered in McMansions, though not as bad as IOP. Friends assured me that the town of Sullivan’s Island was keeping a watchful eye on development. After what I saw of the far end of the island, I’m not so sure.

I drove around the island a little. The Edgar Allen Poe library was still housed in Battery Gadsden. The elementary school was still there, though the campus was very different. I tried to find Battery Marshal where my mother’s friend Unice Ware once lived, but couldn’t find it. Everything was different. There used to be vacant lots filled with wildflowers and black-eyed Susans along Ion Avenue near the dunes. You couldn't find a vacant lot now. I hardly recognized where I was.

The kids were complaining how boring driving around was so we headed back into Mt. Pleasant. I’d seen enough anyway. On either side of the causeway approaching the drawbridge there used to be rows of beautiful Oleander bushes. There are now only a few left. My view of the marsh that afternoon was marred by the site of high-income condos on the Mt. Pleasant side. I felt rather depressed.

I always knew I was “home”, when I would see the Cooper River Bridges. It didn’t feel like I was home this time.