Thanksgiving is and has always been my favorite holiday. I had the good fortune to spend my first 43 Thanksgivings at the same place - my aunt/uncles. The specific people in attendance changed through the years - grandparents and eventually parents passed away only to be replaced with new infants, children and teens. The next few Thanksgivings involved traveling to Florida to be with other family; Disney World and fishing were involved, as though the distance and distractions would counter the loss of 43 years. I always considered Thanksgiving an interesting compliment to Yom Kippur - The day of Atonement. A day to focus on personal wrongs and a day to focus on gifts, nonetheless, given to me. Thankfulness and the feelings of gratitude that accompany it comprise an interesting tandem; sometimes I am thankful for a mere moment in time; sometimes for a relationship or opportunity to experience something. Every once in awhile though, thankfulness stems from someone or something that you recognize has forever changed your life in positive way, which you neither anticipated or thought possible. In part, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because of its simplicity; gather with people you love, eat a good meal, and give thanks for the people, experiences and/or meaningful things that have graced your life. This Thanksgiving, as with the past few, I look forward to spending time at my brother's home with our respective spouses and children. I hope/pray that each who see this will be with people they love, eat a good meal and know the goodness of gratefulness and feeling gratitude towards all that has graced your life.
