The Big Question - What Are You Thankful For?

This Thanksgiving, before eating, we all had to state what we are thankful for.

When it was my turn to say my gratitude, I got a little bit awkward as I normally do when the attention is on me. I started my sentence with an "Ummm...," and then someone shouted,

"She's grateful for New York!"

Everyone had a chuckle (haha, very funny) and then the spotlight moved on. I did, however, have something to say, and I didn't really push to stay it once I lost the moment.

So here goes it: I am grateful for consistency. 

It doesn't matter if I've had the worst week of my life, or if I just won the lottery, when I walk into my aunt's house on Thanksgiving, everything is the same. There will always be too many pies to taste, the annual walk after lunch and squishy bread stuffing. Some years we may add a chair for a new boyfriend or a new baby, and other years, life forces us to take some away, but we always come back to each other. Beyond Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for a family that chooses to remain together. To live nearby one another. To take care of each other. To keep it all going.

In a world where everyone is fixated on how they can upgrade every aspect of their lives from their phones to their jobs, I'm happy to say that in this area of my life, I wouldn't change a thing.

x 

If You Believe...

This morning my mom told me: "If you believe you will have a good day, you will."

While I don't quite like pep talks, or rather talking at all, early in the morning, I thought about what she said on my drive in to the city. I thought about the sweet long weekend that I had with my family.

With the new baby-blue eyed girl who's getting squishier by the minute and her bubbly brother Little, who may not be able to hold that nickname for too much longer. The way my grandmother, who seems to be getting older with each holiday, still manages to bring over spaghetti she made with her hands. How my cousins and I watch the same home movies and laugh at the exact same parts each time. The sound of my parents' silly arguments over each side dish before the guests arrive. The abundance of traditions, like how we must eat seven pies and go for a stroll after lunch. How if the cherry red walls in my aunt's dining room could talk, they would have nothing to share but photo book memories.

I thought about how when life is good, we don't seem to understand how good it actually was until someone is missing at the family dinner table the next year. Even my commute this morning wasn't so terrible.

Because the sky was spilling pink lemonade out of its pores, and my mother is always right.

Once A Year Is Not Enough...

It is easy to be grateful for one day.

To feel your heart swell with happiness as you sit with loved ones and share in stories, warm food, and laughter. It comes effortlessly because these moments are beautiful and familiar. These moments and memories repeat every year for the fortunate families who choose to honour them. This year's Thanksgiving was bigger than ever (with new additions to the family) and double the meals celebrated on both days.

While the feasts were magnificent, this post is for what happens in the weeks and months after.

Be Grateful:

...even when the turkey has been gobbled, the gravy has been drunk and the pie pans are soaking in the sink.

...even when family and friends get back into their routines, and it takes longer to be in the same room again. These people are always there, regardless of busy schedules.

...even when it's easy to scowl at the rude person serving you coffee, or the person who shoves by you on the street. You don't know their story.

...even when life disappoints you, brings you down and steps on your face to keep you there. Learn the lessons, and be thankful to have a harsh teacher.

...even for the boring days, and the stretches of time where nothing seems to change, or happen at all. You don't need a tragedy to appreciate them.

...even for the moment right now, that you can read this, hopefully safe somewhere, waiting for the next best thing to happen.

...even that the next best thing hasn't happened. It allows you to believe in something, strive towards something and understand the present moment.

Whatever those dreams may be...

Be grateful.

[Little's 1st Thanksgiving, perhaps his first piano lesson by cousin A]