I found myself having my very first Thanksgiving ever without following tradition this year. My sister, daughter, little dog Puck, and I went up to the Grand Canyon and celebrated a beautiful, peaceful, day. My first trip ever there and I've lived in AZ my entire life. It was surprisingly busy. Probably over 200 people there. Even with as many people it was still incredibly amazing. I could have sat looking over that canyon all day. Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Coco's and thanked all of them for being open and working so we could enjoy a delicious meal. My Aunt was so kind as to open her home to us so we would have a place to rest for the evening. It turned out to be a wonderful trip. While I was sad that I didn't have Bryan to spend it with I know he was there with me in spirit. We saw 2 elk just grazing about 50 feet from us as we walked out from the parking lot onto the trail. Just breathtaking.
Christmas will be a whole different kind of realization and pain. My Uncle passed away only 2 months before Bryan. We would see him every year at my Aunt's gathering and I'm having a very difficult time grasping the reality of it all. It's going to be very hard this year. I'm struggling with accepting that everything is different now. I miss them both. I can't talk to them. I really hate that. It makes my heart hurt.