I wanted to write about Thanksgiving because I feel it’s
becoming a somewhat forgotten holiday. It used to be a long, late fall weekend,
when with friends and family we stopped everything to reflect on the things we
were thankful for in life. Although a lot of us still make an attempt to
celebrate, the real day has been lost, somewhere between Halloween and
Christmas. You see outside of some extra groceries, there isn’t a lot the
merchants can do, to make a windfall off of Thanksgiving. Yes, like it or not,
money drives everything in our society now days. On a side note, I saw today
that my Christmas cactus is blooming, two months ahead of schedule. It too,
can’t wait
Let’s have a little test here and be honest with yourself.
Does spending a weekend with yourself and your loved ones really turn you on?
Or does crashing the crowds on Black Friday, looking for that ultimate bargain,
seem more like what’s up your alley? Maybe it’s a chance to reconnect with
grandpa and grandma and go for a slow walk on a warm November day. Or does six
hours of football seem like the better choice? Or is it just a four-day weekend
and it doesn’t matter why? It’s four days off.
There was time when I used to think, more like a lot of
people think on Thanksgiving about all of the busy times but then something
told me to pay attention, because Thanksgiving was important way then and it
still is now. I think back when I used to pick up my handicapped brother who
was all-alone and bring him out to our house for dinner but I can’t do that
anymore because Ken passed away this summer. I fondly remember my dear wife
getting up at six in the morning to get that bird in the oven and make that
stuffing that got you drooling just thinking about it but I can’t do that anymore
either because she too has gone to heaven. I used to enjoy the house being full
of my family and their families and little kids playing games with their
cousins and siblings, reconnecting with each other, if only for a few short
hours but I can’t do that anymore either, because they all grew up and moved
away.
This year I will probably go to my sons place for
Thanksgiving. It’s the closest family I have. He feels about family like I do
and I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful I can still drive myself down there and
for being able to write about this. I’m thankful for my health and for Pat who
has made my life exciting again and giving me a new purpose in life. I am
thankful for my faith and the friends I have made. For the readers who take
time to talk with me. I hope all of you have someone, someplace to enjoy the
holiday with. But most of all I would be remiss to not say, I’m thankful for
the love in my heart that continually trumps the evil this world has chosen to
tempt me with.
I am especially
thankful this year because at least for a while, while living through life, I
made some memories and no one can take that away from me-- at least not until
my mind is stilled. On my living room wall there is a picture that means so
much to me. It’s a family picture of my family. It was taken at Thanksgiving
four years ago when she was still with us. I feel a sense of pride and
achievement in it because you see way back when-- before all of this ever came
to pass---it was what I wanted so much and I’m so thankful it came to be.
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