Thanksgiving didn’t hit me like a Hallmark moment this year.

It snuck up slowly…ike crumbs under a couch cushion or the way little kids show up beside your bed at 5 a.m. whispering “Mom? Mom? Mom?” until you finally open one eye.

It started at the cabin.

One by one, my people spilled into the cabin until the place felt like a cross between Stranger Things and a Cracker Barrel gift shop. I watched Jacob, Thomas, and Hailey pile into their room and willingly, WILLINGLY, start a Stranger Things marathon together.

No eye-rolling.

No sibling side quests.

No one storming off because someone breathed wrong.

Just three big kids choosing each other.

That moment alone could’ve cooked the turkey.

Meanwhile, the three littles built a fort with every blanket in the county and invented seventeen new games that made absolutely no sense and had rules that changed every five seconds. Harper was, of course, the queen of whatever world they created. Lynnlee was the engineer. And Kayson (my bonus kid who came from my ex-husband like some emotionally adopted add-on) fit right in like he’d been born here.

If we’re measuring blessings, that one counts twice.

And then there’s Kris.

I don’t know who replaced my husband with Super Dad overnight, but I’m not mad about it.

He’s helping with the littles, bonding with Kayson, handling chaos like he trained for it, and basically leveling up into the partner I didn’t realize I desperately needed this week.

You ever have a moment where you stop and think, Oh wow… I’m not doing this alone anymore?

Yeah. That.

Of course, my rose-colored Thanksgiving glow was rudely interrupted by UPS who decided my wine was either optional, overrated, or maybe just too delicious to deliver. Minibar shrugged, UPS disappeared like they were hiding in the Upside Down, and I’m now the proud owner of a “tracking number” that leads nowhere.

If you felt a small earthquake, that was me filing a fraud claim with my bank.

But even that couldn’t kill the vibe.

Because then it hit me:

Justin applied to college.

College.

My baby who used to eat goldfish crackers off the floor like a Roomba with hair.

The milestone sucker-punched me in the heart, in the best way. Proud and panicked at the same time.

And somewhere between the missing wine, the fort, Kris being a legend, and a Stranger Things family reunion … it clicked.

Thankfulness isn’t loud. It’s not a list. It’s not aesthetic.

It shows up in flashes. Quiet ones. Real ones. Messy ones.

Like:

– A cabin full of kids who actually like each other

– A husband stepping into a role you didn’t ask for but always needed

– A bonus child who proves family isn’t biology

– A son dreaming big enough to apply to college

– A career that finally feels like mine

– And a book—Tyler’s book—that has touched more hearts in one month than I ever dared hope

This year, gratitude didn’t show up at the table.

It showed up in the living room.

In the fort.

On the couch.

In the chaos.

In all the places I wasn’t looking.

My dad and nanny are still fighting their fight

My mom and I are closer and my sisters and I have a group chat’! It’s been a weird but great year. 

And maybe that’s what makes it real.

Happy Thanksgiving from my beautiful, ridiculous, heart-filling, wine-losing family to yours.

May your house be loud, your heart be full, and your delivery driver actually deliver your stuff.