A Day of Thanks
Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday of mine. I distill the essence of the holiday — giving thanks — and run with it. It’s distinctly American and it’s one of the few times in our country when almost everyone takes a break. The expectation is that people are not working. I also fully recognize that not everyone has the luxury of the day off and I am thankful for the people that keep our infrastructure working and keep our country safe.
I know there is controversy around the origins of Thanksgiving. The brutal colonization of the natives in our country and the giving thanks for the country that we took for our own. Regardless, there’s a strong message of giving thanks, being grateful and enjoying the life that we each live in celebration of self, family and friends. And so I run with that theme.
Today, I woke up with the dawn. The first tendrils of fiery reds, yellows and oranges painting the day against a weak light blue cold winter sky. The quiet and calm of early morning never ceases to delight — it fills me with peace and calm to carry into whatever lies ahead of me. I joked to myself as my eyes adjusted to the light “what to do today, what to do today” and laughed at my thoughts as there will be roughly 20 people filling our house in less than 8 hours and there’s much to do today.
Dogs are routine driven and aren’t very holiday aware so they agitated for the walk to the kitchen for coffee and dog biscuits before we could settle into our morning routine of sipping coffee and watching the birds at the bird feeder. We all pile into the bed together and while the dogs take a morning snooze, I watch the birds with their feast, the dance of the wind in the trees and the sun spread it’s lights through the sky bringing us out of dawn and into a full morning.
As I sit here in the peace and calm of early morning, I’m thinking of all that I am thankful for before I turn my attention to potato peeling, squash baking, pie making, table setting, fire creating and general management of warming our house for what will be a thankful afternoon of love, laughter and friendship.
Today I am thankful for
My parents. My mother choosing to be with friends at her home — no doubt embraced with lots of love and laughter. My father for coming for a surprise week long visit to celebrate his birthday and be with our family. I am ever thankful to both for giving me the courage to always pursue my passions and dreams.
My children. Four in total — two born by me and two through marriage. They each delight in different ways and I am thankful for the perspective, passion, energy and love that they bring to my world each and every day. I’m massively proud of the adults they have all become and am ever thankful for the infinite opportunity to learn and grow through them.
My husband. Boundless thanks for my partnership with Tim. Thankful for the unconditional support of me and my endless energy. I have a quick tongue, am passionate about many things and work long, hard hours away from our home and am thankful to be fully supported. Tim has taught me to laugh at myself, to better understand what’s important and what’s not and to be okay when it doesn’t all go the way I’d hoped.
My dogs. Each cold nose, warm tongue, bad breathed kiss from our dogs sends me over the moon. I am thankful to have been given the honor to adopt three endlessly loving creatures and lovingly laugh at our fourth who came through a shiny pet store. Being surrounded by the bottomless pool of doggie love is powerful.
My friends and family. I am thankful for each person in my orbit. I learn and grow through shared experiences. I am fully supported and know that I have a rich circle of #givefirst friends and family. Through the endless give and take of life, we are stronger, smarter and better.
My life. I am indeed thankful and grateful for the life I have. I am healthy. Surrounded by friends and family. Comfortable. Have a home that I love. I have the resources to travel, play tennis and help and support.
Life is complicated. We live in a world that grows ever faster and moves at a pace that only lets you see a blurry glimpse of the details. We take in more than our minds can process and no doubt miss many gems along the way as a result. Taking a day to reflect, to be grateful and thoughtful and to simply be in service to being thankful is a gift.
I’m going to take the gift of today to keep the mantra “reasons to be thankful” running through my thoughts as I make a bountiful feast, welcome people into our home, walk the dogs, set the fires, share laughs, offer hugs of support and marvel at the world around me.
