The Day of Giving Thanks?

Is this the day of giving thanks? Today we celebrate Thanksgiving and families come together to enjoy a feast and a oneness of family.

For me, today is a day of reflection, a day to remember the one year anniversary of my mother's passing. Thanksgiving is tough for me this year. Last yeat this was a day of taking not giving... My loving, wonderful mother was taken from our lives. Why? A woman who was never ill, full of life, always supportive and caring.

A book "The Shack", written by William Young was helpful in helping me understand the why of death and guide me in the direction of being thankful of what we all gained from a loved one's life. I have so much to be thankful for - a loving wife, healthy children, wonderful circle of family and a charmed life indeed. This has been a tough year for our family - so many milestones without mom - My parents 50th anniversary, my son's bar mitzvah and my mother's 70th birthday. I feel that I am whom I am because of my mother's influence in my life. So I am thankful for her love, direction and support throughout my life. I do grieve - but have found this wasted energy. My mother would not have wanted this - I know she would have wanted me to live my life and enjoy my family and friends. So as tough as it has been - I have chosen the high road this year. I think all the time "what would mom do" in this situation, and this moves me forward. My mother still lives within me - I feel her love and her nuturing and I feel blessed.

So on this day of giving thanks - I do have much to be thankful for. The void will always be with me but my mother's passing has made me a stronger and more loving man. Tonight I toast my mother and remember all the goodness I learned from this wonderful person.

Wishing all my family and friends a wonderful day of Thanksgiving!!

Jacob's Bar Mitzvah

Jacob was called up to the Torah on Saturday, February 28th, 2009. We are all proud of his accomplishments and he is now a man in the Jewish faith. Our family celebrated afterwards with a big party extraordinaire...

The theme (got to have a theme) was Jacob's World Tour. Based on the fact Jacob loves music and he has been fortunate to have travelled with his family to many corners of the earth at a young age.

Back in the US of A

The boys wanted to kiss the ground when we landed in Los Angeles this evening. We seem to always have fun travelling, however as Dorothy said "there's no place like home". Our 9 hour layover in China and the 11 hour trans-Pacific flight seemed to go by quickly knowing that we would be back in New Jersey on Saturday morning.

The Almeas family has become "lounge lizards" indeed during this two-week vacation. We spent a lot of time in the Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Siem Riep and Los Angeles Airport lounges and terminals. Kuala Lumpur has been rated the #1 Airport for many years and we agree - it's clean, great shops & restaurants (including a Harrods) and wonderful airport lounge. The monitors indicate the exact time the luggage will start coming off the conveyor belts and the free luggage carts magically connect on the escalators so there is no need to squeeze carts into the elevators. The airport lounge had shower facilities, computer terminals and an amazing buffet display. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Kuala Lumpur Airport - rated the best airport hotel in the world. We checked into the hotel upon arrival in the terminal and were given a key. Porters arrive with golf carts (buggies) to pick you up in the terminal and whisk you right into the hotel lobby to the elevator. Upon check-out the buggies drive you back into the terminal and the porter walks your luggage to the check-in counter. Now that's service!


We now know every inch of the Guangzhou Airport - we were unable to leave the international terminal without a Chinese visa and "lounged" inbound 11 hours and return 9 hours in China Southern's first-class lounge. When we ventured for our many walks in the terminal we noticed that the airport concessions were pirating tourists by charging $11 for a cup of coffee and requesting payment in only US dollars. We begged the lounge hostess to bring in sandwiches today and they finally provided little finger sandwiches so we avoided "dealing" with the airport hawkers. We did not feel overly welcomed in China and I guess we over extended our lounge stay in the airport. By the way, Guangzhou is known as the most polluted city in the world, so being contained indoors might not have been such a bad experience after all.

We had a memorable New Year's Eve celebration in Cambodia under the stars. The resort created an amazing display of foods from around the world all under these beautifully decorated tents. We had a stage side table and enjoyed watching the local Cambodian folkloric dancers perform - the ladies tell a story with their hand movements similar to a hula dancer. The evening was capped off with a fireworks display and dancing to disco music. The resort was filled with guests from around the world and it . It was surreal dancing to Funky Town & YMCA with people from around the globe. New Year's Day we ended our stay at a children's orphanage. This visit was part of Jacob's Mitzvah Project for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and we all enjoyed the tour of this well-managed facility set in the rural countryside. I'm not going into details because this is Jacob's story, but we were very impressed with the cleanliness and the smiling faces we encountered. I guess I thought all orphanages would be depressing with kids holding their empty plates in front of their faces saying " please sir, may I have some more". Jacob played soccer and flew some kites with boys his age. This was a positive start for a brand new year. We were energized knowing that we all can make a difference to others in need.

I know that life will quickly go back to normal once we arrive back home. The kids will want to catch up on their shows that have been recorded on the DVR, Roberta will want to get a start on the 7 large suitcases filled with dirty laundry and I will want to check-in on my business. I leave this Tuesday for Aspen on a business trip. No rest for the weary.