If grief is a part of your holiday this year, how about doing something different? Something all the way different from Thanksgivings before.

This year for Thanksgiving, no one really felt like cooking. Or having people over. Or doing anything that remotely reminds us of having Thanksgiving with dad. I'm even ready to forgo the turkey! (Alright, that really isn't too much of a sacrifice for me) With all of this said and done, we did want to get together as a family so instead of making dinner, we made reservations!

My sister had seen an advertisement from a local restaurant, offering a Thanksgiving meal in addition to their regular menu. She called me and asked, "How... more

I was trying to come up with some sort of fertility to turkey to Thanksgiving connection to post tonight and couldn't really make the jump into a true link. But I did learn some interesting facts about turkeys and the symbolism that they hold in certain cultures.

From sherrifox:

Turkey - food source, resourcefulness. Its feathers have many spiritual & ritual uses. The spirit of turkey is free, and opens up the channels between us and others on a meaningful level. The turkey sacrifices itself so that others may live, showing us courage and faith in our present life and the next

From www.linsdomain.com

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Another way that I have dealt with the anxiety of Thanksgiving day, is to pretend that it is a Thursday. Just a Thursday. Only. No hype, no hoopla, no stress. Just a regular Thursday off of work.

And it worked for some of the time. Especially in the early days of the week leading up to the holiday. I lived my life as I always have done. I would work a regular amount or more at the spa. I tried to avoid the population increases at the stores and would stay away from the "traditional" pre Thanksgiving cooking frenzy. It was pretty easy for the most part.

Now on the actual day of Thanksgivings past, I would tell myself that my family was getting together for dinner. ... more

I read a snippet from an article that stated that the writer was dreading the sitting at the Thanksgiving table and fielding questions from relatives. Can't we all relate? It seems that in one instant, you are living your adult life, and then, with a probing question, you are back in middle school. Expected to tell a relative who may be just one step up from a stranger, the way that your life is heading. And then to add in infertility, it just gets weirder. And worse.

During these times, the way that I would cope for the most part was avoidance. It worked... more

As we are now in the swing of the holiday and party season for our family, I thought that I would like to share some tips that I received from my health insurance to help stave off the additional 5 to 10 pounds that many people gain from Thanksgiving and New Years. For us, party season starts a lot earlier because we have a ton of birthdays in the fall, starting in mid September, going all the way through late January. Some of the tip lists that I have read seem unrealistic, but I found most of these hints to be helpful. Especially since a healthy weight... more

During my infertile years, which may not be over, I was lucky enough to have a mother, sister and husband who realized that although a was not a Mother, with a capital M, I was a motherer, as a verb, not a noun. This quality was honored by them on Mother's Day, not the title Mother.

Each one had seen me in the act of mothering. My sister witnessed me mothering my nephews and niece, my mother noticed the mothering of her grandchildren and my husband recognized that I mothered him, our household, our cats and some of our friends. Since I am in a healing profession, I've also mothered my clients and coworkers. I got cards from my nephews and niece, my mother and... more

While researching books to read for myself and review on my blog, I came across the book Infertilty Sucks! (Keeping It All Together When Sperm and Egg Remain Stubbornly Apart)by Beverly Barna. First of all, what a perfect title, second of all, as I was reading the synopsis I came across her idea for The National Infertility Survival Day.

This got me really excited. Any excuse to celebrate, especially throwing a celebratory vibe to such hardship is a keeper in my book. My family celebrates almost everything. I remember my mom commenting that I could make a party out of anything, after she overheard me telling my infant daughter how special a certain day was because it... more