Thanksgiving Thoughts

 Growing up in Panama, we didn't have Thanksgiving celebration.  I guess now, because of the Internet and Netflix, people in Panama are watching more and more Hallmark-Holiday-movie style shows so Thanksgiving is becoming more of a thing nowadays.  But when I was there, I did not know much about it.  After thirty years around these necks of the woods, though...I can honestly say, I LOVE Thanksgiving!

You know what I love most about it? I love the fact that wedged between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving has kind of fallen off the radar of those who seek to commercialize everything...and now it is a rather quiet Holiday...not ultra politicized and not so polarized.  People forget a bit about the witches, zombies and monsters of Halloween, and make one last pause before the Christmas madness begins...to just sit around a table, eat delicious food, enjoy each other's company, have our traditional arguments, laugh, reminisce, and offer thanksgiving to the Giver of All.  

It could be stressful...yeah...the turkey, is it too dry? The stuffing, is it seasoned right? The gravy, is it lumpy? The rolls, didn't anyone remember to bring them? The pies, do we have enough variety? The crazy relative(s), ugh... but it could be fun and kind of relaxed too...cozying up together in a cold, November afternoon, looking around faces of people we love (some more than others LOL), thanking God for one more year filled with blessings...sometimes in disguise, but blessings none the less...and yes, watching some football, even if we don't care about the teams...because that's part of what helps us chill...

This year has been nothing but a blur.  So, before it all ends, I'm grateful that we get, at least one day, to hit the pause and give thanks.

May your Thanksgiving Celebration be filled with all the things and people who make it special.  May you have a chance to honor those whose faces are no longer around you, but who live in your hearts forever.  May you have a moment to breathe.  May you have time to reflect.  May you have chance to feel.  May you have an opportunity to perhaps think of a new start.  May you have eyes to look back and see.  May you make space in your day to give thanks with a grateful heart.