Spam & Cranberries

It's that time again. The day set aside to give thanks for all we have and then eat all we can before we plunge onto the nearest couch or bed or floor to crash. There is nothing better than a good nap after an overload of tryptophan. Did you know that shrimp, fish, and beef tenderloin have just as much of this amino acid than turkey? The difference is that we actually eat so much turkey on Thanksgiving that the effect of tryptophan is extreme. The average nutritional requirement for the "average" adult is 3-4 oz. of meat per meal. An average person can consume up to 16 ounces, yes ONE POUND of turkey for Thanksgiving! So the turkey-tryptophan-good nap link makes sense. Aside from turkey, there are so many side dishes out there that people prepare. We have tried a few and mainly stick to the traditional foods. At least our traditional foods that we are used to having at our family's meal.

Our family tradition when I was younger was for my Dad to cook the turkey. When he passed away, my sister took on the duty of stuffing and cooking it. Not until just a few years ago was the tradition passed on to me. My sister and brother-in-law's home has been the place that our family flocks to (pun intended) for our feast for many years now. We fill up on cornbread dressing, rice dressing, green bean casserole, candied yams, homemade macaroni, cranberry sauce, and assorted desserts. Of course, we have to include bread and especially an ice cold Coke for my honey.

We've tried to create recipes we've seen on the Food Network or received from family or friends and they don't seem to last on our menu. We've tried homemade cranberry sauce most recently. I have to admit it was OK, but I really, really like the Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce the best. I've tried the whole berry, but there is just something about it that I just love. The funny thing is that my Mom is the one in charge of bringing it. We like it cold so it ends up in the fridge and we forget about it until we are almost done. I think we've had the same sauce for years. Oh well. I'm sure it does not expire! All you have to do is open the can, stab the bottom to cut a slit with a sharp knife, give a slam on your fancy dish, and BA-BAM, cranberry sauce. Slice it up and you're done. If you remember it's in the fridge.

One of our long time traditions is using my grandmother's recipe for Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. The bad thing is no one ever wrote it down. We know the basic ingredients, but never really got it exactly right. One year, which I shouldn't mention, we tried the "new" shredded Velveeta (since cutting it in cubes is hard work). Yikes! It didn't melt right and it wasn't good. But we smiled and ate it cause my Mom cooked it that year. That is the year we starting assigning her bread, drinks, or paper plates. Just to be safe.

I have had my share of disappointing accidents. Like the time I took my sweet potato casserole that I worked hours on out of the oven, placed it on a cold burner on our stove, and POW! The glass dish exploded in pieces!! From now on, it is Bruce's Yams in a can and marshmallows. If you don't like it, don't eat it. There were a few hits and misses that went along with our years of celebration, but above all we were spending time together as a family so it was not a big deal.

Spending time with our family is what it is all about. We miss those who have gone before us so much so we don't take the time we have together for granted. We try and make every gathering a Thanksgiving Day for us, but I think ours is special because we've made our own traditions in our generation that hopefully our children will carry on. We hope that this Thanksgiving holiday is a good one for all of you, but I know it is a difficult time for some. My prayers are with all of you that you try and celebrate Thanksgiving throughout the year.

Random Thanksgiving Fact:

Part of the reason that Swanson started creating T.V. Dinners in 1953 was because they needed to find something to do with 260 tons of frozen turkeys that were left over from Thanksgiving. Poo yie yie that's a lot of turkeys!!

2:05:13

This is me running my heart out. I actually think this is where I was walking on Lafayette's most uneven sidewalks trying not to fall into the street. Anyway, my whole heart was in it. This is also where I first saw Danielle and Annabelle on the side of the road holding signs, cheering me on. It was just the boost I needed. I had been running alone for about 1 1/2 miles so I was happy to see them and quite surprised. I didn't know that they made signs for Katie and me.

After seeing them, my determination and focus really kicked in. It was me, the road, and the music...to the end! I made it through main streets, as well as side neighborhood streets around the city. I saw parts of the city I had never seen even having lived here all my life. I even had the opportunity to see Cajun Field, the Cajundome, and landmarks downtown that I probably never would have noticed driving by them. It was truly more than a race. I took in the scenery while not losing focus of my goal.

At each mile marker, there were people waiting to tell the time it took you to reach that mark. Each mile became a little easier knowing I was near the end. At mile marker 5 I knew I only had one mile left, but it felt like miles. Just when I started to feel the slightest of discouragement,  I would receive a text from family and friends pushing me on my way. When I rounded the corner at about 5 1/2 miles, I noticed my brother and sister-in-law running toward me with signs to encourage me. Then came my niece and then a running friend from church. The next person to meet me was Edie, a runner from Geaux Run, one of the organizers of the Cajun Cup. Everyone followed me until the final stretch. When I turned the corner onto Jefferson Street, I finally saw what I'd been wanting to see since this all began. The finish line.

Until you've trained for even a 5K or a mile run, I cannot explain in words the feeling I had as a small crowd gathered to cheer me to the end. There my family, friends, and people I didn't know were waiting for me. I felt so supported. And loved. The cheers and all the people were so overwhelming to me. As a person that was ridiculed all my life by classmates and co-workers for being overweight seemed to all go away right at that moment. All of that did not matter at all. I was so proud of myself. I had finally set a goal. And completed it.

2:05:13

Thanks to my wife, Danielle, who believed that I could complete the training in just nine weeks. When I put limit on myself, she would remind me of the purpose behind the running. My daughter, Annabelle, who ran with me when I couldn't run anymore. She also provided much needed support along the 10K course. Thanks to my niece, Katie, who got me into this running thing. I still think it's a crazy idea! Thanks so much to my family for supporting me along the way and being there for me when I finished.

Thanks to the Saturday running group at Crossroads Church who patted me on the back and gave me words of encouragement even when I thought I was at my worst. A big thank you to Preston Blair, who started this Couch to 10K small group at church. His words of support and emails helped me get there and hopefully will keep me going.

Thanks above all to God who makes all things possible in my life. I  give Him all the praise for making this happen. And for keeping my feet moving!!



Race Day

While we may look ready in the picture, this is really our best nervous face. Besides it being cold, I was shivering becasue of the competitive people I saw that morning. When we arrived on site, I thought I was going to start running up and down the street, burst into tears, and start hurdling the parked cars. There are few times in my life that I felt so much "nervous energy". That is not me. I am pretty laid back, but that day I was not myself.

As people arrived and we started to become a crowd, I somehow felt more at ease. My confidence began to build. I knew that I could whoop 6 miles, but I didn't want to be left behind. Or fall in the street. Or even worse, get hit by a car. Tragedy. OK, snap out of it. A real fear of mine throughout training has been that all of the people would leave, the finish line would be removed and I'd be running with the moon. My wife promised me that she would make sure they would not remove anything until I crossed the finish line.

The moments just before the race were very surreal. I have never been certain at what point an experience becomes surreal, but this felt very close to it. While I only prepared for this race for 9 weeks, it seemed like I'd been preparing my whole life. My niece's encouragement began all of this, Danielle and Annabelle's endless support, my family, my friends at work. All of the help I received makes this hard to put into words.

As we lined up for the start, my confidence began to gain momentum. It was now or never. And I had no choice but to do my best. Lining up was probably the most exciting up to that point because it became very real. Here I was in a sea of runners, yes runners, trying to reach a goal we had all set for ourselves. Some set a 6-10 minute mile, some set a goal of reaching the end in a certain number of minutes, but I had set a goal far in advance just to finish. We all had different calculations, but our goal was the same. Cross. That. Line.

As the gun fired to begin, I went with the crowd. I seriously felt like an athlete. But my feet and legs became so tense I guess because of the nervousness, the pressure of the crowd, and just being cold. I thought, "Not now..." With everyone surrounding me and all of the pressure I was already putting on myself, I decided to just walk and warm up. I knew if I gave it my all at this point, I would never finish. I tried to just begin to take everything in. Just when I started to get that hint of discouragement, I passed Annabelle and Danielle on the sidelines holding signs they had created to cheer me on. I knew I had to keep going.

The first mile was a killer! I found my stride, but I found myself all alone. So I turned up the music and kept moving. I was not going to give up! All of the crowd left, including the police picking up the cones to open the blocked traffic lanes. I started to feel when I first started training. Alone. But I was not going to stop. Not 9 weeks into it! I turned up the music even louder so all I could hear were words. "Good things come to those who wait......the hard lessons make the difference." The race was on!