The phone rang at 12:30 a.m. the other night and it was my mom telling me she was in the hospital. She was okay, but having chest pains and trouble breathing. I was in a fog, still asleep and felt as if it was a dream. I tossed and turned all night and remembered early in the a.m. it was not a dream. My mom spent the day in the hospital going through a series of tests and fortunately they didn’t find a thing wrong with her. Thank god. What a jolt of reality that was for me; my parents are not immortal and we are all aging. During the time when we weren’t sure what was wrong with my mom I found myself short of breath at times, panicked and scared. This was mom afterall, how would I raise my child without her advice, who would I make Christmas cookies with and call to talk to just because? Several years ago we had a horrible scare with my father-in-law (fortunately healthy as a horse now), it was hard and now I know how horrible it actually was for my husband. There is just something so special about parents – a connection that cannot be described and a club I am so proud to be a part of now that I am a parent. We are celebrating Thanksgiving a few weeks early this year with my husband’s family and I just feel thankful. We both have our parents, healthy siblings, nieces and nephews.  So in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, stress of work and hardship of family, at the core is thanks. For with the craziness, whining and lack of sleep comes smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses. It may sound cliché, but I really am thankful.