thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. is it because my birthday often falls on the day? maybe that was the case when i was a child. my parents always had the whole family over for thanksgiving dinner and the big surprise every year was when they brought out the chocolate birthday cake with a candle marking each year of my life. i always knew there was going to be a cake -- the surprise would have been no cake!!
as i got older and moved to new york, thanksgiving became the one holiday when i would make sure to be back 'home.' there was still a cake, but, more than that, there was the constant, ever dependable, love of family and friends. i probably didn't appreciate the latter as much as i did once i was out on my own.
over the years, responsibilities would get in the way and there would be times when i just couldn't get back for the turkey and then, once i married, when chuck and i were stuck in new york for some reason. we would gather all the people we knew who didn't have a place to go (like us) and we'd all have thanksgiving together. what fine times those were! we all appreciated being somewhere, where the food may not have been 'mother's' but it was the right meal, with everyone's special family dish on the table.
this year feels particularly sentimental. for the first time i will not receive a call from my 'doo dad' on my birthday. my mother is in a nursing home with alzheimers. still, i am thankful. i am thankful for my wonderful husband, partner and friend - chuck - who makes my world turn and is there to catch me anytime i fall off. there are the amazing people we work with everyday -- karin, andrea, jessica, mary ellen, deborah -- who we love and adore. there are our families and friends in other cities -- memphis, jamestown, redlands, brooklyn, baltimore, bogota. we miss them and hold them in our hearts and hope they are safe and well. there is our dogchild, tinka, who makes our hearts sing. there are our customers and suppliers who make work feel like family. that's huge.
in a broader sense, i am thankful for president obama. i am thankful that the world is thinking about global warming. i am grateful that the economy is taking baby steps towards recovery. i feel saddened by the wars we are involved in, but heartened by the fact that our president wants to end them, even if it takes some time. i am extremely thankful to be living in the united states of america.
i will thank the universe on thanksgiving day for all that i have been given, which is a lot, and i will ask for help in remembering to feel the same way the other 364 days of the year.
be thankful.
peace
saundra