I Ain't Said Nothin' But A Word...

It’s just past the midnight hour and I should be in bed, resting up for Turkey Day, but I’m finding it difficult to turn off my brain.   There’s just too much running through my head.   I’m not hosting the holiday meal this year, so thankfully the menu isn’t on my mind. Thanksgiving dinner will be a potluck event. Family and friends were assigned their respective dishes to insure everyone brings their very best to the dinner table. I’m doing my favorite macaroni and cheese. I’ll boil the macaroni and mix it up with my favorite five cheeses when I get up in the morning. I’ll toss it into the oven shortly after breakfast. Big Daddy is pulling his famous pumpkin pudding out of the oven as I type. The smell of cinnamon and sugar is heavy in the air and the house feels festive. After hours of quilting this evening, sipping on a hot cup of tea with my laptop in front of me and the house smelling like a bakery feels darn good. This whole year has felt darn good. Bumps in the road were

Neal was only eleven, maybe twelve when we first met. I was running a business, a video store that his family frequented often. One day, he waved for my attention, his hands dancing in front of his face as he communicated in American Sign Language. With his baby sister interpreting for me, he requested every video I had that dealt with that place called Hell. It was a fascination that he obsessed over for weeks as he devoured every movie I could manage to find. He was disappointed that there weren’t as many as he would have thought, none seeming to give him the answers he was seeking. Over the years there were many topics he obsessed over, devouring movie after movie that dealt with his subject matter of choice. He approached life with a veracity that I have witnessed in few others. His spirit was monumental and despite the hand dealt to him at birth, he approached every day as if it were going to be the best day of his entire life. His life journey has not been easy. He battles la