Thanksgiving often gets the unfortunate rap as the middle child of holidays. Packed between the fun of Halloween and the cheer of holidays like Christmas and Hannukah, the day to give thanks can sometimes pass by without much fanfare.
Despite the chronic lack of turkey-centric tunes, Thanksgiving personally feels especially special this year because I’ll be flying home to California for the first time since starting at The Lincoln County News.
The journey will be long, treacherous, and require several bags of airplane pretzels, but it will be more than worth the air time to make it home.
In years past I’ve taken the family time and spread of Thanksgiving dishes for granted, but I’m more thankful than ever for the chance to see my loved ones.
Since moving to Maine, my closest relative lives about a six-and-a-half hour drive from me. It’s the furthest I’ve ever lived from family, and distance has made me realize just how special those bonds are.
Family members are often there for the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. They’re the ones you call to celebrate the major milestones, but they’re also the ones who come running in your most acute moments of need.
That dependability, that level of unspoken understanding and commitment, can feel like a given, but it’s a privilege to have an unending supply of support at your disposal.
I’m notoriously bad at responding in my family group chats, but despite my snail mail response times, my loved ones are always on my mind. I truly can’t wait to see some of my loved ones in the flesh.
When my family goes around the table to say what we’re thankful for, I’m usually the person who chooses humor over sincerity. This year, I won’t take the opportunity to say I’m grateful for a properly seasoned turkey. Instead, I’ll tell my family just how lucky I feel to be with them.
It can be easy to focus on the stressful parts of the holidays like having to check on the turkey all day or navigating conversations with relatives who are distant in more than one sense, but I implore you to take at least one moment this Thanksgiving to truly and honestly feel gratitude.
Gratitude for having your family all in one place, gratitude for catching up with a cousin you haven’t seen in a while, or even just gratitude for dishes like stuffing or candied yams that taste exceptionally good on this one day.
The things and people we take for granted are often what makes our lives the most meaningful. As often as there are good reasons to get down around the holidays, there are just about as many good reasons to slow down and appreciate what’s in front of you.
Even if it’s just for a moment or two, embrace the cheesiness of utter thankfulness. Just like the stuffing or the candied yams, there’s plenty to go around.
