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Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: We Are #Thankful Through it All

As folks prepare for Thanksgiving in the US this week, it will be a completely different holiday this year. As we navigate through a pandemic that has sickened millions and taken the lives of loved ones, we stand in fear of continuing the spread of the Covid virus by reducing our time spent with family and friends. Some have found it difficult to be truly thankful.

For Sunday Stills, this week, let us all reflect upon the things for which we can truly be thankful.

Our road trip to San Diego this past week was emotionally and somewhat physically taxing. We needed to bring some boxes of items to our children and grandchildren while picking up a few things to take back with us. Our plans were not just to visit with our families, but for me to say goodbye to our family home that was recently sold and to visit my mom’s commemorative brick placed in a local city park.

While driving, we had phone conversations with family. I have two younger brothers; one still lives in the San Diego area and the other recently moved to Arizona. When I mentioned that a few of us were going to visit my dad next week in his rural town in Northern California, the oldest brother chastised me pretty good by stating, “if Dad gets Covid, he’ll die! Do you want to lose both parents in 2020?”

“Umm, no,” I answered contritely (my mom passed in March of this year). Sadly, many rural areas of California are seeing a rise in Covid cases as new people merge with locals, who haven’t practiced good social distancing.

To protect my 84-year old father who has COPD, I had to be the one to tell the family over the course of days that we were not going to converge at his home for Thanksgiving.

Despite the disappointment, it is better to miss one Thanksgiving in order to enjoy many more in the future.

Thanks for the Memories, San Diego

I was born and raised in the San Diego area in southern California. I moved north to Sacramento when I was 20 and never moved back. I am thankful many family members still live there and I can visit most any time.

My brother and his family want nothing to do with COVID-19 and to see them, we stayed behind their driveway gate while they sat on the other side a few feet away. I brought some books and other goodies for them. No doubt my brother will spray everything with sanitizer, but we enjoyed family time. Better than Zoom for sure!

No covid allowed here!
Thankful for family!

It was time to say goodbye to the family home I had lived in since I was 10 years old. Once my mom entered the nursing home in 2010, my brother moved in and lived there for a while. We eventually rented it to my stepson and his family, and once Mom passed this year, we opted to sell it earlier this Fall. We drove over to the house and the owners had not moved in yet, so I was grateful to get this pic of me hugging the house goodbye.

House hug
Hugging my family home goodbye

The next day, I met my childhood friend in the park to visit my mom’s brick and we shared a few memories of days gone by. This image was set up by my daughter and shared in an earlier post.

Mom's Brick

Thankful for Home

The week prior to us leaving for San Diego, we listed our house in Sacramento and potential buyers visited Saturday through Monday, while we were away. By Tuesday we had several offers and decided to go with one, in particular, that was solid and over the asking price!

After signing several online disclosures, my husband and I are grateful that a young couple is excited about the house and wants to start a family in it, just like I did 32 years ago.

Before the family home in San Diego was sold last summer, my daughter transplanted my mom’s favorite roses into two pots for me to take. My mom would be happy knowing her roses will continue to bloom in another state.

Mom's last rose

I dropped off my beloved plumeria plants to my daughter since they will not grow well in the cold North (Spokane, WA). I had just planted four plumerias from stalks in 2019 and one flowered. I will ever be grateful I got to see these plumeria grow. For some reason, the same plant did not produce in 2020. Here is one shot from 2019.

Unexpected Plumeria blooms

Autumn is finally in full swing in Sacramento. My Japanese maple frames one of the last looks at the front of my house, soon to be occupied by a new family.

Japanese Maple Fall

This is submitted for Dawn’s Festival of Leaves. Flowers and leaves are shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day.

My daughters are visiting over Thanksgiving to eat a small meal and say goodbye to their childhood home. We are keeping it simple and ordered a turkey dinner from a nearby grocery store. Trust me, with few dishes left in the house, I’m thankful someone else is doing the cooking!

And I’m sure this suburban turkey is grateful it escaped this year’s Thanksgiving table and my Boykin Spaniel’s greedy jaws. Submitted for Lisa’s Bird Weekly Challenge.

suburban turkey
Turkey in my front yard

Thank You to My Fellow Bloggers

I want to thank you all who continue to support Sunday Stills and share images every week, and those who continue to read my ramblings.

I have a long list of loyal bloggers who post every week for Sunday Stills, but I also want to acknowledge bloggers who took a break and are back to share their talents!

And a hearty shout-out to Joe at Easin’ Along and Hugh Roberts of Hugh’s Views and News who often share their photos of the themes in the comments! Not that easy to do!

Please show us what you are thankful for in 2020. There is more than you might think. We’ve all had our ups and downs, but we will prevail!

Have a wonderful week and if you celebrate Thanksgiving this Thursday, please stay safe and make the best of these unprecedented times in which we live.

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79 comments

  1. Congratulations on selling the house so quickly. I’m sure it’s bittersweet. Now it’s time to get ready for the ‘big’ move. Enjoy your time with your daughters. Have a great Thanksgiving and don’t forget to breathe as you embark on your new chapter. 😊

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    • I think we are all hopeful for a better 2021, Stevie. The people that bought my childhood home were home flippers, which we knew, but my brothers and I took the best offer. I’m now told it is off the market but no final sale yet. I guess I will never know.

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  5. Teri, I think you made a wise decision to not visit your elderly dad. I recently made the same choice with my older brother. We were within 2 hours of each other and could have easily met up, but I opted out. His family and social circles are much bigger than mine and I didn’t feel safe. Five days later, he tested positive for Covid. He is fine – no symptoms, but I still feel like I dodged a bullet.

    You certainly are closing a lot of chapters and have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I love that you hugged your childhood home goodbye. That’s a sweet photo.

    Happy Thanksgiving and cheers to someone else doing the cooking! Take care.

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  7. Congratulations, Terri, on the quick sale and above asking price of your house in Sacramento! Lots of changes for you and they all seem to go in the right direction. That’s a sweet photo of you hugging your childhood home. It’s nice that you’ll be able to grow your mom’s favourite roses in your new home and your daughter has your plumeria plants. Have a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving! Thank you for hosting Sunday Stills and mentioning my blog. Here’s my latest post to share: https://natalietheexplorer.home.blog/2020/11/22/along-humber-bay-shores/

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  8. My heart goes out to you. What an emotional time you are having. i know many of us, myself included but you seem to have been blessed with a little more than your share for this year. I’m glad for you to have your husband. Being alone, myself, I recognize that blessing for others. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

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  9. You have so much going on Terri, I sincerely hope everything work out well for you as you move. It’s exciting but also overwhelming isn’t it? My mother is moving into her new house today after living in a rental nearby and she isn’t as excited as I was hoping she’d be. I think it’s just nerves and hopping she’s made the right decision. She’s 82 so it’s a big thing to move at her age and this is her second move in just a few months!
    I love the honesty in the words you shared and i too shared a few thoughts on what I’m thankful for in my post here https://wp.me/p2juKh-a7y

    Thanks for all you do, considering what’s been going on!

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  11. A fun look back Terri. I’m sure it’s difficult for you to leave but equally sure adventure and fun awaits in your new home. I feel terrible for your dad but sadly I think your brothers have it right. Here’s to NEXT Thanksgiving and in the meanwhile we shall remember all the we are thankful for despite COVID’s best efforts to defeat us! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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  12. So much emotion in this post! I’m so happy for you to start the new chapter in your life. I know you have so much to be thankful for and your mom is looking down on you smiling. This was a perfect time to sell as it is a seller’s market. We have realtors calling, emailing and texting us to find out if we will sell. Ummm…NO! Not ready to leave. Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to Spokane! 🙂

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  16. Wow, Terri, you’ve had a lot going on these last few weeks. What a terrible year 2020 has been for you, but you’re taking it in stride and new beginnings await.

    Lots of traveling, too. Many tough decisions. Being able to sell your house above asking price is incredible. And, coming full circle for two generations – you and your brothers and then your own daughters – saying goodbye to childhood homes brings closure. I remember well my saying goodbye to my own childhood home two summers ago. Emotional times! Take care and enjoy Thanksgiving in your small circle!

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    • Thank you, Liesbet. Emotional is right! Getting closure is difficult in these times but moving on is healthy. Funny, we’ve remodeled my current house, it looks and feels different, which will make it a little easier to let go, knowing the new owners will love it like we did. About 3 weeks left here.

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  20. Terri, it’s so hard to say good bye even when starting a new adventure. Each place we’ve lived is a cache of memory of the people we love and the adventures we shared. I’m glad you got to visit your brother, even behind the masks and the gate.

    When I think of my father, who loved to garden, I remember three very special plants. My parents built a huge home in Orange County and my dad planted a small plumeria twig that he’d sneaked in his jacket on a trip from Hawaii. When they sold that house after living there about 25 years, the circumference of the tree’s crown was about 40 feet and the blossoms frosted it like a pink cake. I still have the plumeria lei he strung for me. In the front yard, he grew a Japanese maple to an enormous, healthy size. He later built a rose garden for the condos where he and my mom last lived together. Before he died, he gave me instructions about how to care for them. Funny how you and I think of plants when we think of our childhood and parents’ homes.

    You’ll take all those memories with you to your new home, and you’ll plant new gardens to remind you of your past and enrich your future. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, wherever they may be.

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  21. Terri,
    Moving can be a very emotional (if not exhausting) experience, and it appears you are handling it as well as can be expected. Before Helen and I built our dream home, we lived in a neighborhood filled with wonderful people and shared the responsibility of raising all of the children around us, including our two boys. We moved after 21 years and I cried at the closing.
    This year has been a wild ride, but I’m thankful that we remained safe and still able to move around the country. My contribution to illustrate this is a picture of us parked at Coronado Beach, honoring your family home. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Stay safe out there.

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    • Emotional reactions aside, the logistics are what wake me up in the middle of the night, Joe. I’m detail- and future-oriented, so the brain never sleeps. Hard as it is to say goodbye, we are ready. Your image of camping on the beach in Coronado is amazing. Thanks, Joe!

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  24. Lots of memories here, but all part of the process of such a big move I think. The sadness at leaving something loved and familiar will hopefully transition to the excitement of arriving at somewhere new. I hope the move goes well, or as well as moving can! Also hope you have a good final Thanksgiving in the old home. Here’s my rather long contribution to this week’s challenge: https://grahamsisland.com/2020/11/23/hilina-pali-trail-loop/

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  25. Sweet post, Terri, I hope you and Hans have a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was nice to meet your family – photographically and with masks. I am trying to talk Vince into staying at home to celebrate. He wants to eat out because he can! We are so excited about our new home here. It is so picturesque, yet I haven’t gone on a photo shoot yet. Tomorrow! We have got most of the nitty gritty details of moving out of the way now. The people in our new house have left the refrigerator for us and a lot of the furniture. It makes the move very easy, and we can move in before our furniture arrives from CA. I hope your move continues to go so smoothly! Lots of virtual hugs for Thanksgiving. 🙂

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  27. Of course we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK – I always slightly envy US friends for the opportunity it gives them to remember to be thankful. But your comments about family plans resonated with me, as my sister and I have just made the tough decision not to all gather in her house for Christmas, although we will see each other in a more open setting the day after. Better that than risk one of us getting ill.

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  28. Hi Terri, first of all, thank you so much for the mention.

    I have to start by mentioning a line from your post –

    ‘Despite the disappointment, it is better to miss one Thanksgiving to enjoy many more in the future.’

    Here in the UK, we’re going through a similar situation with what will happen over Christmas. So many people are saying they’re going to break the restrictions and see or gather in large groups over Christmas. Of course, it puts so many lives in danger of catching the virus which doesn’t stop spreading just because of Christmas. I keep saying to the family (and friends), god willing, we’ll all be here to enjoy Christmas together in 2021. Our government have not as yet told us what restrictions will be in place over the Christmas holidays, but it seems that there will be a relaxation of some of the rules over a 5-7 day period from Dec 22nd. And this at a time when the UK is recording around 500 deaths a day from the virus.

    It must have been very emotional saying goodbye to the home you grew up in. I may be facing the same emotional ride after the recent death of my father, who lived in the same house for 58 years! And no doubt you’ll be on a rollercoaster of a ride when finally saying goodbye to your current home. What wonderful news that it will soon have another young couple who want to start a family moving into it, though. And of course, new adventures await you in your new home.

    Here’s my picture this week – something I’m thankful for –

    Thankful that I am still here, during a pandemic that has taken away so many lives and a year in which my father lost his life, and I wake up to a view like this every day.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family.

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    • Aww, thank you for your lovely comments and warm wishes, Hugh. That is a view for which to be thankful! So much change in the entire world, we hardly know how to behave. My heart goes out to you as you make decisions about your father’s estate. Roller coaster ride indeed. I just need to get through this week, and most focus goes toward packing the POD (our moving container).

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  34. 2020 has been a year, so true.
    I do like to remember that love is not earth bound, nor is it walled in by any geography. It traveled around the world with my dad as he skippered supertankers decades ago, and it still wraps my daughter each day as she lives on the opposite coast.
    May you be blessed with optimism for the future and gratitude for this hour.

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  35. So nice that you can take Mum’s roses along, Terri. It’s many long years since my Mam died but I can still vividly picture the small rose garden that was her pride and joy. Hard decisions to make this year. We are still not decided about whether to visit our son in the UK at Christmas. The flights have been booked for months and many have had theirs cancelled but to date ours are available. We don’t have a UK home to return to, and our son has no space to accommodate us so we would stay in a hotel close by. You never know when this will be the last Christmas and for me that thought keeps nagging away. Wishing a wonderful Thanksgiving to you and yours. Reading your post has made me feel very emotional this morning. And good luck with the move! 🙂 🙂

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  38. This was a very emotional post Terri, or maybe it’s just me having a very emotional week 🙂 The Covid craziness with all the effects has a huge impact on our lives, and I understand that it is very obvious for America this Thanksgiving. Best of luck with your move, and this exciting new chapter of your life.

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