Thanksgiving

Usually by this time of year I feel like a whirling dervish, trapped in the chaotic seasonal frenzy of the holiday rush. Buy, sell, buy, sell, restock, smile, thank you …next! Repeat, repeat, repeat. The onslaught lasts until mid January when my husband and I finally collapse into a disheveled heap of post-retail depression.

This year is different. With all the changes of the last two months, everything is fresh. New perspectives, new attitudes, new priorities, new challenges all leading to a more calming serenity than I have ever experienced. This year I am truly thankful. Thankful for family, thankful for friends, thankful for the complexities of life, which have suddenly become so damn simple. Work is work, but family is everything. Despite the trials and tribulations of a family Thanksgiving, this year make sure you call everyone that matters. With our ever-widening world, overwhelming instantaneous information overload, this year, come back home and get grounded. This year be thankful for what you have.

My husband and I have decided to start our own family tradition. We usually donate to the requisite charities including our favorite: Animal Control. We will continue to donate as we can, but this year we will do something else. We encourage everyone to do the same. Pick something or someone, randomly, and do something good. It doesn’t have to cost anything; it can be a simple gesture, a helping hand, some random act of kindness. We hope this will catch on, even if for a limited time, spreading some hope and happiness. I never did think much about the future, but now I can’t stop. I want it to be better, to leave this world a better place than I received it. Not just to use it, but to cherish it, enhance it, and replenish it. This year, be gracious, be good, and be fulfilled.

Happy Thanksgiving.