Be Thankful

Be Thankful. Want to know how to get more out of life? Be thankful.  Want to know a secret to happiness? Be thankful. Want to really enjoy this holiday season? Be thankful.

This is definitely something I am working on, and something that I have to constantly remind myself to do, but like all other things, I am a work in progress.  

I think sometimes it can be easy to worry about what we don’t have or what we didn’t do, but I think everything can change when we instead focus on what we do have and what we can do!

So this year, instead of complaining about mopping floors and cleaning toilets as we prepare for our family to arrive this week, instead I will think about how blessed we are there are people in this world who choose to spend their time with us, and I will be thankful.

I will not fret and become frustrated with the crowds when I am wrapping up my grocery shopping, instead I will think about how fortunate we are to be grocery shopping in the first place, and I will be thankful.

Instead of worrying about if the yams come out too runny or the rolls bake too long, this year I will think about how lucky we are to have the the food we have been given, and I will be thankful.

When the kids are up late at night, watching movies and cackling and keeping me up, I will not focus on my own exhaustion or need for sleep, instead I will think about what a blessing it is to have kids who want to visit with family and one another, and I will be thankful.

When I think about this holiday and the years that have gone by, I will be thankful for that, too.  For the church groups that brought food to our home year after year when we were growing up, I am thankful.  For the friends that invited us into their homes when we lived far from family and shared many a “Friendsgiving” with us, I am thankful.  For the years my sisters and brother and I managed to bridge the miles and to get together, I am thankful. For my husband’s family that has treated me like their own daughter and have celebrated holidays with us year after year, I am thankful.  For all of our family and all of our friends that have traveled or have welcomed us, I am thankful.

I am also thankful for all of the holidays and gatherings still yet to come.  As we sit here we on the brink of our children growing and going away, I already look forward to each of their returns.  For the school breaks that will allow our college-aged kids to come home to visit, I am thankful.  For the wives and husbands and grandchildren that will one day gather around our table, I am thankful.  

Yes, there have been and there will be hurt and heartache, fear and worry, frustration and doubt between here and there, and I believe that’s part of the journey.  But the truth is, no matter how good or how bad, no matter how full or how lonely, no matter how near or how far, there is always, always something to be thankful for.

This year I will work to think about the holidays of the past, the holidays of the present, and the holidays of the future.  I will continue to remind myself of all the many things for which I can give thanks.  I am truly learning and feeling and believing that the things I am most thankful for are not things at all.  It is the love and the laughter, the trials and the triumphs, the people and the places.  The truth is I am thankful for it all!

May you all find yourselves truly thankful for those gathered around your table this year.  May you give thanks for those present only in memories, those present only in your hearts, and those truly present in your lives.  May you forget about the menus and focus on the memories, forget about the pressure and think about the people.  May you all have a Thanksgiving filled with giving thanks!