Thankfulness Every Day

The holiday season is upon us and after the tricks, treats, and wonderful costumes and fun of Halloween, the seriousness of Thanksgiving settles in before the big Christmas rush-around catches everyone. 

The newspaper is preparing its Thanksgiving edition and many of the writers are listing things for which they are thankful. It’s important. It’s important to remember we have a lot to be thankful for. However, what gets me is how many items on those lists are the same. I could copy and paste quite a bit of their lists into my own because, for the most part, we are all thankful for the same things (or types of things) in our lives.

I’ve always strived to be a different. Even as an artist, I don’t want to do the same thing everyone else is doing or I don’t want to do it exactly the same way. And so, in my thanks, I don’t want to list the same things that are prevalent on others’ lists. (Such as being thankful for this wonderful country, family, etc., which to me are givens.) Of course, we are thankful for these things and we cannot say thank you enough. 

Thanksgiving Day, the holiday, a time for family and get-togethers, changed dramatically for me in later years. My thoughts of Thanksgiving bring memories of family with Ma and Dad preparing dinner (which, along with Christmas dinner, was eaten around noon). The memory holds love, laughter, warmth, and the smell of good food and plenty of it. Later years, when I became an adult and the children were young, the holiday still had some of that feeling. 

Times changed. Choices were made. Lives came and went. The holiday within the family changed. The entire holiday season… fell apart for me. All those old memories were just that – memories. The feeling of the holidays changed and I made the decision to pull back and drop out. It was my choice and I did not do this to slight family, but to protect them from my… sadness. Maybe this just means that I was unwilling to change with the times. (Although the past couple of years I did come out of holiday isolation to go out to Thanksgiving dinner with my brother, his wife, her sister, and husband and it was good.)

There is more. Thanksgiving is not just a one-day-a-year event for me. I celebrate thankfulness every day. Every night I say gratitude prayers at bedtime. I snug down under the covers and have an entire litany of prayers and thanks that I run through before falling asleep. Goodness, there is so much to be grateful for that the list could go on and on. Sometimes I feel like a broken record repeating things. But I AM so grateful!

So, what can I add to my list that is not exactly the same as on other lists? What can I add to my list that is different from last year’s list? Oh, yes, I have a list. Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving Past and Present

This is the time of year that people pay attention to giving thanks. I give thanks every day, so to have a special day for it is no big deal. What Thanksgiving Day means to me is a great turkey dinner, family, friends, and camaraderie. All of which could be had any time of the year, but because of the “declared holiday,” there’s a specialness added in.  

However, because of circumstances and life choices, the thanksgivings of the past are just memories. Mom and Dad cooking the turkey, Dad making lumpy gravy, and then there were the side dishes. I loved the mashed potatoes and carrots, while Dad and my brother went for the onions and turnips… all you could eat. And that’s the crux… all you could eat. This is one particular day where there was always plenty. 

My mother and I tried to carry the family tradition as long as we could, but times changed and other family members chose to make their own family traditions. In the end, it was just Ma and I, and when she was gone, it was just me, and for the first couple of years, even though I received many invites, I chose to be alone.  

Last year, I took my brother’s offer to go out to Thanksgiving dinner with him, his wife, and Carol’s sister and brother-in-law. I was leery about being the fifth wheel, but they assured me they’d love my company. One big difference here was that we had always had Thanksgiving dinner around noon and they wanted to go in the evening (an added stress for me as I don’t like to drive at night). However, I went and had a really nice time and am going again this year. 

While the camaraderie is good, Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant is not the same as a home cooked meal. Over half of the plate was stuffing (and I don’t particularly care for stuffing) with a couple of thin (any thinner and it would be considered luncheon meat) over the top, a small scoop of mashed potato on the side, another of squash, and a spoonful of cranberry sauce. I guess the customers are supposed to fill up on bread. 

We can’t hold on to the past. It’s important to make new traditions and be open to change. I am looking forward to spending time with Don, Carol, Sue, and Bob. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.