Thanksgiving

Giving thanks. Thanks giving. Thanksgiving Day. A day of thankfulness?

Giving seems to be a key word here. Giving what? Giving time to your family? Giving thought to how everyone has changed since last year? And, who is not here this year?

Giving up any Black Friday shopping.  According to the news today, tomorrow is “make or break day” for toy stores. Are they serious? Who remembers Christmas Eve shopping? Who remembers three things under the tree from Santa? Have we completely lost touch with what we celebrate?

When my family gathers at Thanksgiving, we look ahead to our get together at Christmas. We draw names for gift giving. We pull out the decorations and light up the tree for my mother to enjoy until we return in a month. We feast on collards and traveling man’s cake. Its always the same, but never the same.

I think about how sometimes we all “zero in on nothing”.  Have you ever focused your full attention on something that didn’t merit it? Or is the definition of something vs nothing, highly personal? Has a family member been unpleasant to you because of some perceived slight?

What if you call your mother when you think of it, but you don’t think of it as often as she expects? What if she is determined not to call you, even when it is a free call and still is aggravated that you don’t call once a week? What if you have trouble with this on two levels? One, you aren’t that regimented. You don’t do anything on a schedule and starting one here is destined to fail. Two, you don’t like to be emotional hostage to a phone call. If a phone works both ways, is there a fairness factor we could call into effect? Is age the great equalizer? Unconditional love? If a call is indicative of love, wouldn’t it be more unconditionally loving to make the call if you don’t get the call you really expect and wish for?

Will I try harder? Of course, if I can think of it. I suppose I could set an alarm. I suppose I could consider if I am being passive aggressive by “forgetting” on Sundays?? I suppose I could be thankful that someone wants to hear from me and is just not very good at showing it. I suppose I am just not made this way and can’t really wrap around it. However, in the spirit of thanksgiving, I will do better.

Have you got anything you could be more thankful for and do a better job of appreciating? I bet so. I bet we all do. Think about it and see what you find:)

Yeah, we put up the tree and our kids made a gingerbread house. At the end of the day, we were all more thankful. And, aware of what a special day we have been given.

It’s a once in more than 70,000-year event: The first day of Hanukkah this year coincides with Thanksgiving. As a result, Jews everywhere are gearing up for “Thanksgivukkah,” a convergence of Thanksgiving and the Jewish festival of lights. This lineup of the first day of Hanukkah with Thanksgiving is incredibly rare.