Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays. Mostly because I get to hang out with family, eat, and not have to worry about gifts. Halloween is a bit overstimulating for me and Christmas, well, it has become so commercial. It is hard to get on board with not giving gifts at all. Especially when you have kids. Thanksgiving though is eating and talking, and enjoying each other’s company.
Now I won’t lie. Last year was a bit rough. It was right after the election. We had gone back East to visit family and let’s just say, we weren’t on the same page. Fortunately, we got the big argument out of the way via Skype before Thanksgiving. We also had snow which for this native Californian and my daughter, was pretty cool. This year we are staying put and the family we are hanging with are more like-minded politically. Still, it feels a bit harder this year to be Thankful.
We have seen hurricanes, earthquakes, fires and multiple mass shootings. It seems sexual harassment has finally made the front page in Hollywood. The rich are getting richer and the poor seem to be getting poorer thanks to some of the rich. Those of us in the middle are just trying to hang on. I’m still not working though I’d like to. Unemployment is low, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t still struggling to make ends meet.
I’ve had friends who have lost people close to them because of illness, addiction, or suicide. People are struggling and we don’t have leaders who help build us up and together but rather name call and tear us apart. I’m not saying the past has been perfect, but between Mother Nature, technology, and the current political climate, it feels like life is just a bit meaner. A bit harder.
But I’m not one who likes to dwell on the negative even when it feels like it is swirling around me. I try very hard to look for the good. After all, I’m raising a child in this world today and it is important to me that she sees the good and the hope. I seem to find this mostly close to home in my family and neighborhood. The guy at the grocery store who goes to grab something at the same time as me but then gives it to me. The person who greets my Aunt with Alzheimer’s when we are at church, even though I’m in a rush to get her back home. The kid who comes over for a playdate with my daughter and lets her go first on what to play at. The friend who thinks of me when a possible job opportunity arises. Heck, even the woman at the stop sign who waves me to turn first even though she got there first. When I look at these, I remember that we are all trying to do our best with what we have.
The holidays can get crazy. It often feels like we are being pulled in too many directions. I find it really important though to slow down and be grateful for the ordinary, the day to day. The husband who actually cleans the shower for me among many other things that I don’t always say thank you for.
Life is what we make it. Maybe from the little things, we can grow to be grateful and teach those around us how to be grateful too. Maybe that will cascade to the rest of the world. Maybe. But we won’t know unless we try.