The holiday I respect most is Thanksgiving. It might be the cooler temperatures, the colors of the leaves on the trees or a time for family and friends to be together. The Thanksgivings of my past have circled around being with family and friends.
In my “black ‘n white” years in Illinois, we would share Thanksgiving Day with other southern families would cannot make the trip down home to be with their families. It began with the Richardson family of Arkansas and then will the McDonalds of Alabama. As long as the other family had children our ages, my brothers and sisters were okay.
One year we hosted the McDonalds in our home. We, also, were baby-sitting the Webb’s dog. Her name was either Gigi or Daffy. I can’t recall. Mother had locked the dog in the utility/laundry room downstairs so she (the dog, that is) would not be running through the dining area upstairs. Mother asked my little brother, James to read a scripture and then he was to say grace over the meal. He got through the Bible reading okay but as he began to pray – the dining room being very quiet – we could hear the dog in the basement howling. The dishes on the long dining table began to rattle as we all struggled to stifle our laughter. James started and stopped his prayer several times. Finally, he said through his chuckles – “Dear God, Thank you! Amen.”
As the years rolled on, I moved about the south and did not always make it back home to Illinois for the holiday. I was in someone else’s home with the usual fare but it still wasn’t the same as being home. You see, wherever Mother is – is home, to me, anyway. Now, we take care of each other in the home Big Daddy built on the family farm in Tennessee.
The first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration held by the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in the 17th century. Great debates have been had the past few years as to the accuracy of what happened and the value of celebrating this holiday. In grade school, we talked about the pilgrims and even made turkeys using our hands as a pattern for the wings on brown construction paper. Although, I guess, it has now proven turkey was no on the first menu. Sadly, many have turned the holiday into a day to fuss, fight and accuse.
To me, Thanksgiving is a day to turn my focus away from me and my struggles and focus on finding a reason – no matter how difficult – to be grateful. I choose to celebrate it in that way. I wish every day of the year could be a day of thanksgiving. Some years are harder than others. The loses experienced in the months leading to the fourth Thursday in November can cloud our vision and our heart.
I have a friend whom I haven’t seen in years and miss dearly our conversations. He suffered a heart attack and part of his post open-heart surgery recovery is to walk a distance each day. During that walk he is to look for something for which to be grateful. Sometimes he posts pictures on his “gratitude walks” on Facebook to encourage the rest of us to view life through the lens of gratitude.
In the final weeks of his life, my brother James had a feeding tube in his side to receive nutrition and medications. He also had a tube in his throat to help with his breathing. The last full week of his life, all five of us Davis kids were together. We helped him with pouring his nutrition and medications into that feeding tube. I realized, shortly after his death, that no matter what time of day or who it was who was doing for him what he could no longer do for himself – he would raise his finger to cover that tube opening in his throat and say: “thank you”. He never just said “thanks” or nodded his head or held a “thumbs up” – he always said those two words: “thank you”. It came to me that he was trying to make a personal connection with the person who was helping him. He wanted them to feel his heart-felt gratitude. “Thank YOU”
I believe it would improve everyone’s life, if we could say “thank you” more every day. For little things and any size thing that crosses our life’s pathway. Thank YOU for reading my blog. If it has been an encouragement to you, please share it with someone. I hope your Thanksgiving Day is with those you love and that you will tell them: “Thank YOU”
“Thank YOU” – it can change lives.
A thankful heart cannot be a bitter heart. - Anita Monohan
Thank YOU, Karen. Happy Thanksgiving.