THANKSGIVING IN THE FIFTIES

Before you open your eyes from the night’s sleep, you hear your mother moving quietly around in the kitchen. And then the smell of Thanksgiving begins to enter your conscious mind. Mingled with the lingering scents of the various pies that were prepared the previous day, floats the aroma of the turkey slowly browning to perfection in the oven.

Dressing quickly, you race to the door, as other family members begin to enter the home. You find yourself enveloped in hugs from grandparents, aunts and uncles, all on hand to celebrate the day's events together.

Everyone is chattering happily, sharing stories of family and their lives. 

Soon the topic turns to Thanksgivings past, forming a family history for the young to hold onto, coupled with the memories of today.

It seems as though time has come to a standstill as you wait for the meal to be ready and the table set with your mother's best dishes.

As the family sits down together, your father carves the turkey, placing the platter full of the rich, juicy meat in the center of the table.

Everyone is seated and heads are bowed first to give thanks to the Lord for all that has come to them during the year and to ask His blessings on the year to come.

Then, in a frenzy of noise and dishes full of tasty delights being passed, the meal is shared with enthusiasm.

After the meal, the family remains around the table to share stories with one another well into the afternoon.

With the holidays fast approaching, it is easy to get lost in all the hype and commercialism of life in the twenty-first century.

This time of year, we find ourselves running around "like a chicken with its head chopped off," trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on our list during the Thanksgiving sales. We strive desperately to make the money that we have to stretch so we can afford to get the gifts we want to give. Yet, we still must be able to have some left over for little things like food and rent and electricity.

It is easy to lose sight of the real reason for the season.

This is the time of year when we are supposed to think about all the things we are thankful for and all of the people who have played an important role in our lives. So, with this in mind, I will journalize my list to organize Thanksgiving, striving to bring us back to its original purpose.

I am so thankful for the gift of life, for without it, all the rest would have no meaning.

I am thankful for my health, that I am still in there kicking and fighting at seventy years old to continue striving forward to whatever God has in store for me around the corner. I am thankful for my God given fortitude for, without it, I would not have made it this far.

I am thankful for the parents who raised me to be the person that I am today. They taught me discipline, though I fought it most of the way, and they taught me that working hard has its own reward that reaches far beyond the paycheck. They provided me with shelter and the things I needed to not only survive but so that I would not need to struggle in the process. They taught me to know my own strength and have confidence enough in myself to be successful.

I am thankful for my sister and the rekindled relationship we have found together as adults.

I am thankful for my husband who has always supplied everything I need as well as things I enjoy. I am thankful that he has always encouraged me to be myself, standing behind the decisions I make in my own life in the midst of our walk together.

I am thankful for my children. They are healthy and smart, though sometimes they were too smart, teaching me resourcefulness I didn't know I possessed. I am thankful for their individual success as strong adults and the success and pride I measure in myself when I see their accomplishments. I am thankful for their spouses and the home they have built together. I am thankful for the ten grandchildren they have brought into my life and the promise they hold for the future. 

I am thankful for every child whom I have loved and who has loved me in return.

I am thankful for the ability to hear a baby's giggle and my own joyful laughter I find in it.

I am thankful for my many friends, both those who have been lifelong, as well as my newfound friends of today. I am thankful for their support and love and acceptance of whom I am, faults and all.

I am thankful for the world God chose for me to live in. I marvel at the wonder of the landscape of rolling hills, the changing weather patterns, the aroma of plants to entice my senses, and the precious animals I have shared my life and love with.

I am thankful for the Freedom I have enjoyed my entire life, having been born in America. I am thankful that I am constantly reminded not to take these freedoms for granted. I am thankful for the Armed Forces who have, all the years of my life, as today, strived to keep us safe, sometimes giving their own lives to accomplish this.

And, most of all, I am thankful for God's blessings on my life. I am thankful for the wonderful things he has given me. But I am also thankful for the hard lessons He has allowed me to learn and for the knowledge of His hand in mine every step of the way. I am thankful in knowing that when this life is ended, I have a home in Heaven to go to and His arms waiting for me there.

Make this a great Thanksgiving holiday for yourself. It should be a time to give thanks for everything you have, literally. I would be willing to bet that, at least, one of these things I have listed applies to you.

This year is difficult for everyone with Covid-19, unemployment skyrocketing and the cost of living so high. 

However, look around you, really look around you, and see the simple gifts of your life. These are the gifts which money cannot buy and the lack of it cannot take away. Focus on these things and watch the smile begin to turn up the corners of your lips into the smile of your childhood when Thanksgiving was about family, good smells, love and truly being thankful.

Wherever your emotions take you on this Thanksgiving 2022, take a minute to think about the journey, a child's laughter, the memory of loved ones, the rain...and be glad!

WE CAN ONLY BE SAID TO BE ALIVE IN THOSE MOMENTS WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE CONSCIOUS OF OUR TREASURES." by Thornton Wilder