Today in the USA we celebrate a day of thankfulness. Granted, not all celebrate the aftershock of newcomers to North America (then and now), but the idea of recognising our thankfulness as a group is generally a good thing.
Ideally we’d each be in a constant state of thankfulness, but that’s a different blog post entirely.
I’ll share two items of thankfulness and then will let you be on your way.
1. Family texts
A small portion of our family (my siblings and father) have had a shared text chat going on for over a year now. At first it was our of necessity, to notify us all at once of mother’s declining health and to offer reassurance in prayer and in other ways.
But over time it has become a home away from home.
We don’t contribute to it often, but when I see that group chat pop up, I know I’m getting a long-distance hug across the miles. This morning, the first ‘ping’ my phone was a ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ greeting from one of the siblings, followed by an ‘ack’ by the others.
I’m thankful that my family thought to do this. It’s a regular affirmation that no matter what the winds of change may bring, we have a lifeline that spans distance and time. When I tease my little sister or brothers on the chat, it’s like time has melted away. Simply magic.
2. Family tradition
Today was the first thanksgiving dinner presented by daughter, with great assistance by her big brother. The apartment was decorated already for Christmas and it was so comforting. It was also so nice to hear the prayers of thankfulness (led by the grandboy) each of us offered before eating.
Shortly afterwards I received Happy Thanksgiving messages from my son and daughter-in-law in another town. We exchanged nice chats about our plans for the day and went on to our own business. It’s always a pleasure to get messages that just say, “Hi” with no drama or hidden messages to decipher behind them.
My daughter’s mother nor I were big on holiday pomp and circumstance as they grew up in our household, so I don’t know from where she inherited the drive for holiday . My sister has it too, so it’s definitely a genetic disposition + environmental setup thing. These are they who forge and carry on our future family traditions.
I’m thankful there’s hope for our next lines of lineage that the holiday spirit will not die with us olduns who say, “meh” on holiday gatherings.
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