Today is Thanksgiving here in America.
It is intended to be a day for gathering with loved ones to express thanks for life and the blessings we enjoy. For some, the day is about gluttony and football too.
Depending on your family dynamics, it could also be about a kind of restraint that some might call passive aggression as your out-of touch relatives rant about the state of the world. If you lack in restraint, it could include lively arguing discussion of politics and the politicians who don't care one ounce about you while your defending them ruins the holiday meal.
For others it marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season and the hunt for bargains. For some without family, it is a day alone and for some it's a day of lost pay that is much needed.
Many people spend the holiday remembering loved ones who are no longer with us. Chances are you know someone who is marking their first holiday without a parent, child, spouse or dear friend. Whether it's the first or the tenth Thanksgiving without their loved one, they're just muddling through. Show them some grace. That will be you someday.
It's not a happy day for everyone and yet a glorious time of celebration for many. The ways we celebrate Thanksgiving are as diverse as our nation.
I'm hosting today but my mother will do the cooking. I can be trusted with a veggie tray and dessert and with putting some elbow grease into making everything clean and pretty. I cannot be trusted with anything more important than that and this is fine by me.
Today, I'm thankful that I'm not responsible for cooking the stars of the meal. I'm thankful for the family I was born into and the people I have chosen. I'm thankful for my little cat Scout and for the job that allows me to give him the life he thinks he deserves. I'm thankful for easy access to the natural world, for good books and the people who write them. I'm thankful for the impending shift in seasons and for my own good health. I am thankful for the adventures I've had and those to come.
I'm thankful for all I have and for all I've lost. Each day, all the good stuff and especially the adversity have helped me become the human I am. For this I am grateful too.
Wherever you are in this world today, it is my fondest hope you have so many blessings that it's hard to count them all.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
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