Give Thanks, There is a lot to be Greatful For.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that often gets overlooked, you have all of the imagination and wonder of Halloween, and the parties and splendor of Christmas, Thanksgiving is sitting right in the middle... it is one day out of the 365 days in the year where you plan a HUGE feast, grab a chocolate turkey from See's Candies, and say what you are most thankful for then after you have consumed as much food as you can handle, and possibly after a nap, or a football game you are off to fill your shopping carts on Black Friday. 

This year seemed as if it has been pushed aside and even forgotten, holiday music had been filling the air waves at least a week prior to Thanksgiving and the red and green decorations clutter the walls of the shops and malls around town. I feel so bad for the poor turkey that was sacrificed to be drenched in gravy and eaten so quickly without enjoying the season.

I wish the world would spend a little bit more time on Thanksgiving, maybe people might actually appriciate what they have or be a little bit more caring to the next guy. I understand retail needs to be updated at least a season in advance so items can be purchased and prepared, but give a little love to the turkey!!!

In our household every year in September I put out my "Happy Fall" placemats and pumpkin decorations, and I celebrate the weather changing and embrace the wonderful holiday moments to come. October I add jack-o-lanterns, candy corn, and my festive Halloween placemats so for a month I welcome the idea of a fun and free spirited holiday, and of course the first day of November out comes my "Give Thanks" placemats, and my corn o’copia, away go the jack-o-lanterns but the pumpkins still remain (you cannot have pumpkin pie without pumpkins) and I ask my children as often as possible throughout the month what they are most thankful for. Now children have many things they are thankful for, and to you or I it may seem silly, but to them it is quite serious... items like their favorite stuffed toy, or favorite coin, favorite moments at school or with friends, thankful for birthday parties, then you hear them start to sound really thoughtful: thankful for their mommy and daddy, and thankful for their best friends and cousins. Thanksgiving day arrives each year in our household, and we prepare a handful of delicious dishes to take up to my parents’ house, and each year my father hands me a chocolate turkey from See's Candies and I know I am thankful for my children, my family, my friends, and my Thanksgiving placemats that are a reminder to my children not to let this one day of the year pass without being truly thankful and knowing they are blessed. Fill your table with hearty food, special loved ones and most importantly thankful hearts.

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson