This is Thanksgiving day. The Macy's day parade will go on as scheduled and many of us have traveled over the river and through the woods ( metaphorically ) to join family and friends. It saddens me that I hear more about Black Friday than I do the real holiday. It is almost as though Thanksgiving is being observed more as Black Friday eve than anything else. It does please me when I see businesses refusing to open to allow their employees time with family. The cynic in me just says it is good business sense. Whatever the real reason, I'm happy for that. I'm not " thankful " just happy. I do have much to be thankful for and that is what this day symbolizes. A day to share a meal with friends and family. A day to pay homage to our God and be thankful for our very existence, that we have survived ! Isn't that the tradition and the story of the Pilgrims. I know the traditional Thanksgiving story that we were taught in school wasn't that way at all. That is not so important as the sentiment. To me, the underlining sentiment was they were thankful for having survived that first year.
I have survived for 62 years and I am thankful. It is only through Divine Providence that I have done so. I owe my thanks first and foremost to God. From there the list begins. There is much to be thankful for and the thanks shouldn't be limited to just one day. I make an effort to remind myself of that very fact every time I feel disappointed. I have found if you list those things you are thankful for the things that disappoint aren't nearly as depressing. It can make some things inconsequential entirely. I do enjoy all the traditional trappings of the day. I often speak of markers and milestones and each holiday is certainly one of those, including my birthday, which should be a national holiday but that is another topic. Thanksgiving day at my home has never been like one in those Hallmark movies on television. Oh, we will have all the traditional fare and share with family. There will be the Macy parade on television and I get to crack the mixed nuts. The actual meal will last about a half an hour.
I do have some trepidation about the future of this holiday. Political correctness may put an end to this tradition. I hear the mumblings about us " immigrants " and the way we treated the natives. I hear all the talk of this holiday and the excesses associated with it. Will black Friday replace thanksgiving ? Nah because we would then have to have continued support for Christmas and that tradition. Christmas and Christian belief are also under heavy attack. The focus has shifted from a birthday celebration to a commercial enterprise. I am especially thankful that these holidays still exist and are practiced. Will both become ancient rituals one day ? Yes, I'm afraid they will. Won't happen in my lifetime or the lifetime of my grandchildren but it is coming.
Today I am thankful. I am thankful for life and all that it contains. I have survived another year, made new friends, enjoyed old friends and explored new ground. Just a pilgrim in the universe. I offer my thanks to my God and pray the he is pleased. We say please and thank you. Please is a form of prayer, is it not ? Thank you acknowledges a prayer answered. That is why we say, Thanksgiving.
I have survived for 62 years and I am thankful. It is only through Divine Providence that I have done so. I owe my thanks first and foremost to God. From there the list begins. There is much to be thankful for and the thanks shouldn't be limited to just one day. I make an effort to remind myself of that very fact every time I feel disappointed. I have found if you list those things you are thankful for the things that disappoint aren't nearly as depressing. It can make some things inconsequential entirely. I do enjoy all the traditional trappings of the day. I often speak of markers and milestones and each holiday is certainly one of those, including my birthday, which should be a national holiday but that is another topic. Thanksgiving day at my home has never been like one in those Hallmark movies on television. Oh, we will have all the traditional fare and share with family. There will be the Macy parade on television and I get to crack the mixed nuts. The actual meal will last about a half an hour.
I do have some trepidation about the future of this holiday. Political correctness may put an end to this tradition. I hear the mumblings about us " immigrants " and the way we treated the natives. I hear all the talk of this holiday and the excesses associated with it. Will black Friday replace thanksgiving ? Nah because we would then have to have continued support for Christmas and that tradition. Christmas and Christian belief are also under heavy attack. The focus has shifted from a birthday celebration to a commercial enterprise. I am especially thankful that these holidays still exist and are practiced. Will both become ancient rituals one day ? Yes, I'm afraid they will. Won't happen in my lifetime or the lifetime of my grandchildren but it is coming.
Today I am thankful. I am thankful for life and all that it contains. I have survived another year, made new friends, enjoyed old friends and explored new ground. Just a pilgrim in the universe. I offer my thanks to my God and pray the he is pleased. We say please and thank you. Please is a form of prayer, is it not ? Thank you acknowledges a prayer answered. That is why we say, Thanksgiving.
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