Thanksgiving is a time when I get extremely sentimental. This day of the year was always such an awesome day for us; nothing crazy out of the ordinary or exotic. It was always church, family, meal. HUGE meal. and my favorite kind of meal of all. My grandma made her wonderful casseroles, my brother came in town, my cousins were there, and inevitably there'd be football in the background, but that somehow was part of the whole experience, even the part where we start to argue about having the football on TV in the first place. There's something about the warmth of the kitchen, alive with energy, steam rising from pots, dishes clanging, people chattering, the sound of the women shunning the men from the kitchen and the words "stop pickin'" echoing as fingers attempt to find some tiny morsel of goodness from the table before getting popped away by an elder. In a way, Thanksgiving has always been more of a favorite day than even Christmas. (It's ok if you don't believe me) Of course the gifts are nice, but I sincerely enjoyed having my family in one room, even if we were all busy wandering from room to room, gossiping with each other, fighting over the remote control--I knew at some point, we would have half an hour where we were all together, sitting at the dining room table, enjoying a feast, as one.
Well, times are different these days. We're without a few of our beloved elders, and have added some new beloved youth, and now we're starting our own traditions. Maybe this is when I'm supposed to start loving Christmas again. Yes. I believe it is.
So, I used to write a Thanksgiving list every year when I was younger, and I dug up one of my old journals to see what I used to be thankful for. I shall share some with you...
This is from Thanksgiving (11/27) 1997
...for sunflower fields
...for nose kisses from Jasper
...newborns
...new life
...death
...for pain which causes revelation
...for love
...for God
...for a funny dad
...for a beautiful mom
...new experiences
...for courage to live my life as an individual
...for music and art
...for the ability to make my grandfather smile
From that list there were so many more things. I was a very thankful 20 year old.
This Thanksgiving, forget your differences, appreciate your family, let go of all your expectations and accept what you have as being everything you need.
This Thanksgiving I'm thinking of my homeless buddy who keeps his bed on the porch of a dilapidated house near where I park at work. May he stay warm, eat well and feel loved by someone today.
