Happy Thanksgiving

Well, it's that time of year again. Holiday sales bombard the TV replacing all of those annoying political ads. Screens are being traded out for windows. Air conditioners are covered. Leaves are raked every weekend. The mower is housed in the shed awaiting springtime. Mall parking lots are beginning to fill. The baseball awards have been distributed. No major deals have gone down yet for the Phillies. The only trade that has cause for concern is Dan Uggla being traded within the division to the Atlanta Braves. That boy can hit however, his defense is questionable. He can't be any worse than Brooks Conrad, and the Braves made it to the wild card with him.

This is the time we spend with family and friends. We give thanks for the love and health of our loved ones. Thanksgiving day means different things to people. We all have our own traditions. There's the parade in the morning, as we recover from the hangover from the night before. Then off to a relatives overheated house for some hair of the dog and football. The food will be good but cold, because there is no way to have that much variety of food for that many people, and have it remain hot. Sorry, that's a little pet peeve of mine. I don't need six different kind  of vegetables. There are 26 of us! By the time the food gets on the table and everyone is seated, the food is cold. As soon as it's polite, I recommend taking your plate to the sink and getting a primo seat in the living room for the remaining football and post feast nap.

I am very thankful because I have a wonderful family. They are always there for you. They volunteer to help you out, so you don't even have to ask. We are very close. We celebrate holidays, birthdays, graduations, whatever the occasion, we are always partying. Of course it helps that my cousin has an awesome pool and party garden.

This will be the first Thanksgiving without my father. This will be especially hard for my mother, but we will be surrounded by our family's love. My father was always the first one done eating. He'd sneak outside for a smoke and that back inside to claim the end spot on the couch where he would promptly fade into a glorious snooze. This is one of many things that I learned from him. Being an only child, I always hung with him as a kid. He was very patient and a joy to be around.

I will not mourn him this Thanksgiving. I am just thankful that he was my Daddy. I was so fortunate to grow up receiving his love. He has spoiled me to the point where no man could ever measure up. My wish for you, is that you have a great family and that you could be the type of father to your children that my father was to me.

Back to baseball. I am also thankful for my home team Phillies. They did not make it to the World Series this year however, they were there the past two years in a row. They looked tired in the NLCS and they probably were. Now I'm not making excuses for them but how many teams are repeating in back to back World Series appearances? The postseason has gotten longer and is shortening the winter for baseball's elite teams. The Phillies suffered key injuries to most of their regular players this year. Could it have been to lack of down time? Hopefully we will come back stronger and healthier in 2011.

So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a great family and my Phils. I can hold my head high because I had the love of a fabulous father and although the Phillies did not make it to the World Series, they did have the best record in Major League Baseball. Think about that. It's the first time in their 127 year history that they had the best record! Back in 1976 and 1977, they had their highest win total with 101. But to recover from an exorbitant amount of injuries, playing with more teams in the Majors than the seventies and still having the best record, I am extremely proud and thankful.

What are you thankful for this year? What is your Thanksgiving tradition? Let us know.
Have a great Thanksgiving. May your bird be big and succulent.

Katie Casey