Holidays approach… what happened to Thanksgiving
I know I’ve read about this on some other blogs, and I had a long discussion the other day with my Mom about it. But, what happened to Thanksgiving? Here in Maryland we had Halloween, and now we’ve got Christmas. The only nod to Thanksgiving were a couple of pilgrim statues and some posted pictures of colorful turkeys at the local grocery store colored by local children. Of course there are turkeys in the store and the fixings, but if you didn’t know Thanksgiving was this week you couldn’t tell from all the Christmas decorations in all the stores.
For me, Thanksgiving is a time when families and individuals should be sitting down for a few quiet moments to think of all they’ve done this past year and all that’s happened in their lives and give thanks for what they have. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a loving husband, a home (it needs lots of TLC but we have one), a son who is healthy and mostly employed, friends who have been there when I needed them (and who I hope think I was there when they needed me) , and I’m still cancer free after 8 years post surgery. So, there are problems … who doesn’t have problems in their lives; but, in balance, there’s more good than bad.
Taking some time to appreciate the good that has happened to us over the past year sets us up mentally for Christmas — which to me is more about family, friendships, and giving than it ever was about getting. Perhaps, we all need to remember this little holiday that comes between candy (Halloween) and gift-getting (Christmas). Just maybe actually thinking about why there is a Thanksgiving holiday can help more of us realize that life is pretty good, and if it isn’t, then take some responsibility and start the steps that will make things look brighter next Thanksgiving. I’ve learned that it not Pollyanna-ish to recognize that no matter how bad things are for me, there are probably a lot of people that have problems that make my set of troubles look like blessings — it’s all about attitude. Set goals and look up. It is true that no one ever got anywhere only looking at the bad in life — how depressing is that anyway?
Guess that’s enough ramblings for this post. Did you know there’s only 34 knitting days until Christmas — and I’ve got a sweater and some socks to finish.