I’ve said it before on our blog, and I’ll say it again: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is also, in my humble opinion, the best holiday of the year. What other day combines the incredibly important concept of gratitude with family, friends, food, and football (the four Fs of happiness)?
My perfect Thanksgiving day goes a little something like this:
- First, A run in the morning (I usually run the Berbee Derby with my husband and tons of other friends)
- Next, cooking while watching football or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade with family.
- Then, by late afternoon, we all gather around a table that is thankfully filled with delicious food to pray, eat, laugh, and enjoy the bounty of another Wisconsin harvest and each other’s company.
- We usually break for clean-up (which for some reason on Thanksgiving is actually enjoyable), and then settle around another football game and some pie and coffee.
Over the last few years, however, I haven’t enjoyed as many of these days as I would like, since my two children were both born a few weeks before Thanksgiving. In 2011 and again this year, I’ll be making one dish to bring to our family feast, trying to snag a few more minutes of sleep, and watching the Macy’s parade and football games while feeding a newborn.
I don’t mind one bit.
While I may have to wait a few more years to ramp back up to my “ideal” Thanksgiving day, I am so blessed to have two healthy children that will grow up around my favorite holiday. I want them to know what it means to be thankful, to remember all the blessings we receive every day, and to be grateful for the time spent with family and the food we are able to eat. My hope is that we can go around our Thanksgiving table at least ten times sharing the many things we are thankful for, and that we learn to pass those blessings on to others through donations and volunteering.
This year, our family donated many bags of linens, warm clothes, coats, and hats to the River Food Pantry and St. Vincent de Paul, and I’m really looking forward to the day when our kids are old enough to help us volunteer as well.
One other thing I have to give thanks for is Tri 4 Schools. I am blessed to be able to work every day on something I am truly passionate about. The days are long, and there isn’t a lot of support (I am still our only employee), but I give thanks every day that YOU have allowed me to make this a reality for me and for thousands of kids in our community. You have helped make us a more sustainable organization with each passing year.
So tomorrow when we gather around our table, know that I will be giving thanks for you.
Riley meeting her new little brother. I am so blessed.
Recent Comments