Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Season of Thanks

I, like you, have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. And I, perhaps like you, spent a fair amount of the day grumbling... at least in my head.

I'm having a hard time reconciling the Thanksgiving in my brain with the one that actually happens, and this morning I felt awfully grumpy about the ordinariness of the day.

But by now, the end... as I sit sipping a glass (er...what number is it?) of wine and still stuffed to the gills from our 3:30 dinner, I am thankful for our quiet and relaxing day. Thankful for the fried turkey we bought from our church as a fundraiser to feed children in Haiti. Thankful for our friend who came to eat with us, bringing several yummy dishes. Thankful for my grandfather who is staying with us all this week, and today told stories about meeting my grandmother and getting the dog they had when my mother grew up. Thankful that The May Queen is old enough to play games like Uno, and that we could all gather around the table and laugh and enjoy each other's company.

It's not a loud bustling Thanksgiving. It was quiet, and almost ordinary. A sharing of a meal by a small group of family and friends. And that is truly something to be grateful for.


I am also very thankful for this lovely decoration, which I won a few weeks ago over at Potted Frog. The photo does not do it justice, particularly with the sun shining on it like that, but it's a wonderful and warm welcome to my home, hanging just inside the door, and will be a reminder for years to come of how thankful I am for all of you... my bloggy friends. And Louise... THANKS! I love it!

A season of thanks... a season of blessings... a season of love

9 comments:

Jen said...

I had some of those grumbles about our Thanksgiving, too, just because it was very, very quiet. But I called some friends who had invited us for a huge shindig, and we went and visited in the evening. It was lovely.

Louise said...

Our Thanksgiving was relatively quiet, too--just us and some neighbors. But it was nice. But not like yours. Your Grandpa telling stories is the best!

As for wanting it "big." I do, too. And my husband does even more. But the clean-up! The bigger it is, the later we stay up cleaning up and the more tired we are. So I'm thankful ours wasn't as big as we would have liked!

Chantal said...

I love those quiet, ordinary, yet special days. I especially love the ones where the stores are closed and we are forced to stay home and actually "be" with each other. It is such a treat.

Kat said...

I think this was one of the first holidays when I did not put any pressure on myself for the way things were to go. I woke up with a migraine. That was bad. But it turned out to be one of the nicest Thanksgivings I can remember. Which is extraordinary considering I was really missing my dad the whole day.

I love that you were able to focus on all of the good the day brought. Happy Thanksgiving!

MARY G said...

And thanks to you for being the great blogging person that you are.

Canadian Thanksgiving is a very quiet family day -- it's all about a mountain of food and no other obligations or thingsthathavetobedone. I love that feeling -- it beats Christmas for me.

Amy Y said...

It sounds like a perfect day to me! I love that wall hanging!! Very cool...

Bayou Belle said...

Talk about ordinary day. My mother-in-law didn't even make it out of her house dress the ENTIRE Turkey day! My hubby kept saying, "Mom, are you going to get dressed at least for dinner?" She didn't. Some things never change. It was certainly an ordinary day for her. I guess that makes me feel good that guests can be that comfortable in my house.

Chaotic Joy said...

That picture is very cool. I am glad you had a Happy, quiet Thanksgiving. I am working hard to find the beauty in the ordinary and you seem to have done so spectacularly.

Woman in a Window said...

I think those are the best of holidays, simple quiet time spend together. And the Uno thing, I really get this, a drawing together of everyone in a common fun. Good times.