We spent our first Thanksgiving in the PNW and it was a beautiful light rainy day. I don’t think I have ever spent a Thanksgiving away from my sister, so this year was hard. We normally start our day by heading outside to participate in the local Huffing for Stuffing race. Since Elijah came early last year, I was even able to still do the 10k. What to do in the PNW? I had been searching for races around the area and we finally found one in Hood River. We headed that way not so early as the race didn’t start till 10 am. We were use to getting to the start at 8:30 back in Bozeman. There was a nice light drizzle as we started. My parents took Elijah in the stroller for their 5k which Brent and I were thankful for. There were a few hills on the course and we were glad we didn’t have to push the stroller up them. It was a beautiful fun run, but it wasn’t the same as Huffing for Stuffing in Bozeman. The crowds were missing, the snow, the hot chocolate, the coffee, the after race cookies, our friends and acquaintances that we always ran into, my sister, and much more. This race was tiny. There were maybe about 150 people. We did enjoy our run and looked forward to our hot showers.
After getting all cleaned up, we headed down to Dufur for our Thanksgiving feast with several of Brent’s family members. We had a great day and were able to see people that we hadn’t had a chance to see since we’ve moved. Even with this good day. It was a hard one. Remember, I don’t think I’ve ever been apart from my sister for Thanksgiving. I messaged her several times, but it isn’t the same. Part of me was missing that day. The good day ended in sadness and memories that brought tears to my eyes as I thought about my best friend that I wasn’t able to see. I cried myself to sleep.
