Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have wonderful memories of being at my grandmother’s house, hanging out with my cousins, eating the turkey, cornbread stuffing (dressing?), stewed tomatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, collards, and on and on. It’s a day about family, food and football. Every year, when the Christmas decorations come out earlier and earlier in the stores, I remember the reason Thanksgiving gets skipped over: There’s no real commercial aspect to exploit. That’s the biggest reason I like Thanksgiving – it’s all about abundance, giving, and spending time with people you love. Not spending money and running around in stores (except for the food!).
My white pumpkin centerpiece this year…
I’m sad about Thanksgiving this year though. I’m on call for 24 hours on Thanksgiving, so I didn’t prepare a big dinner, because I may not be here to cook it! Since we can’t travel and don’t have family here to do the dinner, we were invited to a friend’s house to share their dinner. The nice thing is, Perry and the kids will have a Thanksgiving dinner, even if I can’t go. But I’m hoping and praying I will be able to go. And I’m cooking our turkey and sides on Friday (no, I’m not participating in Black Friday shopping – I just can’t fight crowds for stuff!). We gotta have Thanksgiving leftovers!
The holidays can be hard too, though. Many people are missing loved ones who have passed on, and some have endured tragedies in holidays past. All the hustle can be a bit much too; the preparations and the cooking and the cleaning, travel and packing. All the running around and doing can make you want to pack up like a hermit and not come out until the new year. Maybe that’s just me. I have five birthdays and an anniversary to celebrate in addition to the holidays between Halloween and the end of January, so this is definitely the “high season” in our family. It’s a lot!
So here’s what I’m learning: It’s all about how you look at it. I can so easily pick apart all the challenges and difficulties, even create a few in my head that never happen, and then I feel so rushed and worn out. You wonder why some people are ready for this season to be over? This is why. But I’m learning how to slow things down. And this is part two of Getting the Good We Need: Gratitude. ‘TIs the season!
Our grateful tree with our most cherished gifts…
There are lots of reasons to be grateful. The benefits to a gratitude practice include:
- Stronger immune systems and lower blood pressure;
- Higher levels of positive emotions;
- More joy, optimism, and happiness;
- Acting with more generosity and compassion;
- Feeling less lonely and isolated.
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I read 1000 Gifts a few years ago for a Bible Study project. I used a small book that was gifted to me by a friend to write down my gifts / blessings. I agree with you that it’s a wonderful thing to do! I can’t recommend it enough! Going back to read the things that I’ve recorded is a blessing itself!
Practicing gratitude in this concrete way has truly transformed my outlook. I never would have understood it before I did it, but writing down the gifts and getting to read them again is absolutely a joy!