We Gather Together

I have been far away from home for many holidays and as difficult as that was, I am thankful for the experience, because it taught me how important it is to celebrate and keep traditions alive with the people who matter most to us.

I didn't like Thanksgiving when I was a child.  I thought it was a food holiday only and it was all foods I didn't like.  And then there was the football game which I absolutely despised, but there was that one obnoxious uncle who dominated the TV with "the game."  Ugh, was there any point in this holiday?  It was just another hurdle standing between me and Christmas.

It wasn't until years later, when my extended family had fallen apart and fallen away and I myself was in a dorm room for several weeks of holiday break across the pond and totally alone that I finally began to realize what I'd had and lost and exactly how important it is to gather together with family and be grateful.  It came again, a stronger reminder, when my children were little and we were 2,000 miles away from all our family and friends for the first of many holidays of just we three, that I realized the importance of keeping family traditions alive.

 

The world can be a hard place, an awful place, a cruel and unjust and bizarre place, but there is always something for which to be thankful.  If you're struggling to find something good in your life I think the people you love are the best place to start.

For better or worse, things won't always be the same.  The bad times pass, but so do the good.  Perhaps your childhood Thanksgivings weren't the best, but let go of the bad things.  There must have been something good that you can focus on and some tradition, no matter how small that you can pass down to the next generation and keep that flame alive.

I know some people have a problem with this holiday, but so what.  Some people are desperately looking for something to have a problem with and get offended about all the time.  I can't be bothered with people like that.  

If rage and anger and offense give them purpose, I respect their choice.  They don't have to celebrate today.  I choose to give thanks.  Not just today, but each and everyday I choose to be grateful for all that I have and all that I have learned, even if I had to learn it the hard way.

And today I choose to gather together with each and every person I love and tell them so over a heaping plate of foods I have grown to truly enjoy and a total lack of sports of any kind on the television.  Happy Thanksgiving, from my family to you and yours.

Shopping Info:  Bettie Page Dress from Poshmark, Heels from ThredUp, Gloves from Claire's