Marine Corps Association & Foundation

Ok, ok. I totally failed at my diet this week. I went home for Thanksgiving, and I went to see my entire family (scattered through the state of Florida). I broke every rule possible. I feel like such a glutton, and I hope this didn’t set me back too far.

Thanksgiving Day went alright. We ate at my mother’s house. I weighed out my turkey and measured my green beans. I gave myself one tablespoon of things that weren’t on my diet. I even skipped on pie! I was so proud of myself.

The piece below comes not from Seven Pillars of Wisdom or from the David Lean movie or from Michael Korda’s wonderful new book, Hero. It’s from a letter written by T.E. Lawrence during the WWI revolt in the Arabian desert, when he led what the British called “Bedouin irregulars” against the Turks.

Alas, I can’t recall the date of the letter or the circumstances of its writing or even the person it was written to. I cut it out and saved it as an example of vivid, immediate, riveting prose.

My Facebook friends started a trend at the beginning of the month, each day they named something they were thankful for in honor of Thanksgiving. Over the course of this year, I have had an abundance of blessings. Just last week, my husband raised his right hand and re-enlisted for four more years in the Marine Corps. His choice to become a Marine has turned into a gift not just for me but for our children. Every day of my life I get to wake up knowing the man I married chose a life of service, and not just any service but one as a United States Marine.

I love this time of year.  I love walking outside on a crisp, autumn morning and hearing the leaves crunch under my feet, and the smell of a wood fire in the air. It’s a reflective time…a time to take stock of what’s important in our lives. This weekend I was happily engaged in some pre-Thanksgiving tasks. I put a large pot of poultry stock on to cook, made pastry dough and even roasted off some pumpkins for pie.