If you’ve been a reader around here for a while, you probably already know I’m not a big fan of Thanksgiving foods. I wrote about my Thanksgiving in Prague here with a non-traditional Czech recipe, and again here with a recipe of what I would prefer instead of the traditional menu staples, so I’m clearly not a traditionalist when it comes to T-giving, and yet this will be the first one that I’ll be spending without my sons. (They will be with their dad.) Not only that, I won’t be spending the holiday with anyone other than my four legged shadow, Bailey, and I have to admit I’ve struggled a bit with this transition. It’s one of many transitions this year and this one hit me by surprise because I really have never cared much for this holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m big on gratitude, but the holiday itself conjures up memories of my terribly shy, picky-eater years, sitting around a festive table fully of family and hoping I could get away with a couple of rolls with a side of invisibility but instead always ending up as the topic of conversation with all eyes on me and encouragement from all around to eat the turkey and green beans (cooked with ham) and everything else that truly made my throat close when I tried to eat it. That’s how meat always felt to me if any landed in my mouth, like it blew up in there ten fold and my throat would close and I couldn’t get it down. Anyway, for a people-pleasing, timid child, it was traumatic, and to this day I don’t care for any of the traditional foods and I’m pretty sure I know why. It’s not popular to say ‘I don’t like Thanksgiving’ these days though, but it has nothing to do with the giving thanks part. In fact, I’ve dedicated all of November to be especially thankful and taken extra time to make gratitude lists and be mindful of all the things I have to be grateful for.
Despite having the most tumultuous year in my life, I can easily fill a notebook page with my gratitude once I get started, and I’ve done that often this month. I won’t bore you with the details, but did want to share that each and every one of you are on those lists and in my heart and represent so much light in my life, especially during this rather dark year. Everyone of you who are part of this community with your eyes, your words, your enthusiasm, and your questions, are engaging with me in my favorite place, and I appreciate the heck out of each and everyone of you! There are so many parts of my life I’d like to change right now, and so much I’d do differently, but this blog has been my happy place, consistent, stable, reliable, trustworthy, and growing, and this has been such a grounding force in my life that I can’t even tell you how much it means to me that when I show up here, I’m met with kind, curious, intelligent, high-quality people again and again. It’s enough to burst my heart open with gratitude. You guys are the best! Mmwwaaaah!
So however you are spending your Thanksgiving (if you are in America) I truly hope it fills you up in every way, with great food, people you love and appreciate and who give back to you that same love and appreciation, and most of all feelings of intense gratitude for this world we keep waking up in. Things might look grim at times, both personally and on larger scales, but in the end we get to show up each day and choose to be our highest selves and make the best choices possible, and when we fail, we wake up to another day with those exact same options. (Until we don’t.)
Enjoy your day wherever you are in the world and know that I am thinking of you with gratitude while I happily eat non-traditional foods with my bff (best furry friend). Stay well and if you are looking for holiday gifts to start making this long weekend, I have more than a few ideas you can peruse~ just search ‘DIY’ or ‘gifts’ in the search bar. And if you are interested in what flowers traditionally mean “thank you”, this article is a quick read.
Let the holidays begin! XOXOXO