Giving Thanks

Those of us living in the US will be celebrating Thanksgiving on November 27 -- the latest day in the year that this "moving around" holiday takes place. Four weeks from today will be Christmas.

 

This holiday has been happening since 1621 when the Pilgrims celebrated their first year in the new world and a successful harvest. They shared this celebration with the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans. 

 

They didn't call their three-day celebration Thanksgiving. That term didn't come into use until 1841. And while what we think of as "the first Thanksgiving" is probably more an image of myth, and an idea that stuck. It is always held on the fourth Thursday of November. (I also learned that in 1565, the Spanish living in Florida also held what they called thanksgiving. So take your pick.)

 

Since then it has become one of those holidays with many associations. For most, it is the food, and often a traditional dinner of turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes, some sort of vegetable, lots of side dishes and pie -- usually pumpkin or pecan. For others, it means watching the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. And for many, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without watching a football game. Or two. Or three.

 

What sometimes gets buried in all the festivities is the "thanks." There may be a grace said at the table or a discussion of things for which we are grateful, but often it is caught up in the chaos of family time, kitchen timers going off, and cheers for a winning team.

 

It seems like a good time for me to note a few of those things for which I give thanks, for which I am filled with gratitude. As you might expect, Rick is at the top of the list. It's been a rough year for me but he has been with me at every step of the way. Trust me, it's not always easy. So that definitely is at the top.

 

And I'm especially grateful every time he gets back from a bike ride all in one piece.

 

It's closely followed by family and close friends. You've "met" many of them here on Marmelade Gypsy. Whether it is the kids or grands, cousins or besties, they are the fiber of my being. I cannot imagine a life without them.

 

And then there is Lizzie. Despite her one quirky fault, she is a wonderful companion and secret keeper. She talks a lot but she never tells! 

Then the list gets longer and more abstract -- a terrific medical team, and an excellent insurance policy that made the last two rugged years before retirement all worthwhile. I'm grateful to have decent eyesight, a warm home, food security, and despite the challenges happening in our country, we are not (yet) at war. We can rest, knowing that we will not be hearing air raid sirens in the middle of the night. 

 

And, given that I am one of the privileged white American citizens, I do not have to fear being picked out of a parking lot if I go to the home improvement store or if I was in the field picking the wonderful Michigan cherries that I treasure every summer. The fact that this can happen, that people can be rounded up like cattle in my country, many of whom are US citizens wrongfully detained, others with no criminal record, is not, I think, what those Pilgrims would have ever dreamed possible. Indeed, they would be appalled.

 

There are little gratitudes too -- a good parking place on a rainy day, an unexpected sale, finding something thought long lost, a surprise from a neighbor, a note that makes you smile, especially on a bad day. That list is endless.

 

 Years ago I did a gratitude journal, which I know some of my blog friends do also. I don't write it down anymore but every night before I go to sleep I try to think of five things that day -- large or small -- for which I am grateful. Lizzie's purr, the warmth of Rick beside me under quilts stitched long ago, feeling lucky that when I skipped through that stop sign, there was no policeman behind me. And yes, I did look both ways first. (The day I learned I was financially able to retire, I gleefully edged through two stop signs, treating them both as a yield. Unfortunately the policeman behind me felt differently.)

 

I found one of those journals recently and I remain filled with happiness that so many of those moments I still remember. They are little things, a kind word when needed or a spotting of Harry the Heron. But they are good things.

 

This Thursday we will have Thanksgiving at my friend Kate's and enjoy the holiday not with turkey but with Reuben sandwiches, cole slaw and appetizers. I will bring deviled eggs; Rick will bake bread and bring his guitar. We will laugh and share. 

 

And then, I'll start to really ramp up holiday decorating. It has come on fast and I will lose a bit of time due to a pacemaker installation. 

 

So, I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating. And if you already have, or even if you don't, please know that the words you share on your posts, the comments you write on mine are all something for which I am grateful.