Thanksgiving

So many people will take this time of year to share what they are thankful for. I’ve always been amazed at how you don’t hear a peep out of some people all year but come Thanksgiving, they have this epiphany and all of a sudden they are thankful for everything from their jobs to the shoes on their feet. Why is it that we don’t share these thoughts and emotions more often? Is this the only time that people can muster an offering of Thanksgiving for their lives and their blessings? Surely we can be thankful for more than just 1 day out of 365?

Families unite for a brief time to share a feast that women have labored over for hours, only to see it consumed like a pack of hyenas devouring the Lion King. Then they spend the rest of their afternoon cleaning up the carcasses that were left and putting their homes back in order. Uncle Bob is still mad at Aunt Lucille because she got the turkey a little over done; the kids are running through the house playing football, even tho Aunt Marge told them 100 times already to stop it because the house was not a playground! Barbara Ann has the tv up too loud because she can’t hear worth a flip anymore, which makes the women sitting at the table talk louder about Jenny’s big thighs, because they can’t hear each other over the television; Becky’s in the other room pouting because at 14 she thinks it’s so “un-cool” to be around all these old people and how she would much rather be at her boyfriend’s house; Janet’s daughters are spending a tearful moment reflecting on how much they miss their father and wish he wasn’t gone; the rest of the male cousins and uncles are all outside-some of them hiding around the corner from their wives, hoping they won’t get caught stealing a smoke because they promised they had quit already-the rest are talking about how that coach on that football team needs to give it up and let them coach because they could do a much better job at it then he was! And they call this Thanksgiving? How can any of that make you feel thankful? Especially if you’re the one who’s hosting this massive family feast! It’ll take you weeks to get your house looking like your house again. But these are the moments that we should be the most thankful for. What memories you are making!

My fondest memories are of the times when everyone would gather at my grandmother’s house for the holidays! There was way too much food and a crazy amount of people! All her sister’s and their spouses, and they each had kids who had kids! We would be crammed in the house like sardines. The kids would get in the big coat closet and play and get lost in our childhoods. Oh how I wish I could have those moments back! The house is silent now during this time of the year. My grandparents are in heaven with some of their brothers and sisters…some of their kids and each of the nieces and nephews and grandchildren have scattered, only to be left to make their own memories. I’m so thankful for all of those times we had. You never realize how much you miss until you no longer have it anymore.

Don’t wait for the holidays to tell people you’re thankful for them…you’re thankful for the memories…you’re thankful for their part in molding you into who you are today. Everyday should be a day of thanksgiving. If those aren’t things you can be thankful for, be thankful that God gave His only Son so that you could have everlasting life! What more is there?!