Giving Thanks

On the night before Thanksgiving, households around our great country were occupied with final preparations for the upcoming feast, bickering over turkey cooking techniques, deciding between marshmallows or pecans for the sweet potato topping, and lamenting the sad fact that Kraft no longer makes that odd log-shaped, jalapeno cheese product that is oh so necessary for the perfect spinach madeleine. While I do find all of these topics to have some level of merit, such was not the case in my household. We dismissed all concerns for the Thursday meal and instead spent the evening at the new Amway Arena cheering for the Orlando Magic as they took on the Miami Heat. Apparently boxing great Floyd Mayweather wasn't concerned about the great pumpkin vs pecan pie debate as he was in attendance too, on the front row with a team of bodyguards. There wasn't an empty seat in the house and the atmosphere was electrified. It felt more like a playoff game than a regular season match up as everyone was so anxious to see how the Magic would perform against the over-hyped, super-star threesome from Miami. It was Superman versus the King, as depicted in the photo of this adorable father-son, Howard-James pair.

Keeping up with the meaning of this special American holiday, I thought of all of the things that I am most thankful for...and on Wednesday night I was very thankful that the Orlando Magic redeemed themselves with a win over the Heat, especially after that humiliating loss in Miami in October. Dwight Howard was also at the top of my list, as I am always thankful for his power, skill and ridiculously overdeveloped deltoids. Oh, and his very sweet smile. JJ Redick made the cut on Wednesday night with his 20 points and nice ability to sink 3's at just the right time. I was thankful too that I witnessed Eric Dampier (formerly of the Dallas Mavericks) dress out for the first time as a member of the Miami Heat. While not necessarily a Heat fan, I was happy about this because he and I share a mutual close friend, so I think that makes us friends once removed, right? I was also feeling thankful for the new state of the art home of the Orlando Magic, full of chic spots and super cool fan features, such as the life size cut outs of the starting players (where I am happily photographed with a cardboard Dwight and my trusty blue foam, number one Magic hand). And most of all I gave thanks to my charming, sweet husband for allowing me to spend exorbitant amounts of his hard earned money so that we can attend games like this one. All in all, I felt like a very lucky lady this Wednesday night.

While basketball does occupy a large portion of my daily thought process, there are a few things that are more meaningful to me. And that is what I am most thankful for... an amazing husband, a loving and wonderful family, the most incredible and beautiful friends on earth and a spoiled rotten but precious black labalike. Their health and happiness is what I am truly thankful for, this day, and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

xoxo