That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil–this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13
What a great day Thanksgiving is! Our family has set ourselves up for a day of contentment. We’re all up at 4:00 to get the day going. Each one of us has an important part in making our Thanksgiving wonderful, and cooking is the first part. The boys and I put together the stuffing (or dressing) while the hubby is taking care of that HUGE turkey with music playing in the background. Laughter rings out over the silly things that are done!
After the food is cooking, I can get ready for the day and think about all the things I’m thankful for. We have so many blessings! The key to contentment is taking time to be grateful for the wonderful people in our lives and the memory making moments. It gets our minds off all the negative aspects of life, and points us in the right direction.
Then, we get to add to our turkey wall. One of our favorite things we do on Thanksgiving! We trace our hands, cut them out, add an eye and a waddle to the thumb, put the date on them, and write four things we are thankful for on the fingers. It makes me emotional every year I see it. To see how the boys’ hands grow each year makes me realize how quickly they’re turning into men. The oldest has now passed me up! We keep it special by only having it up for one day. This will be our tenth year. We will have forty turkeys on the wall this year; that’s 160 things we’ve been thankful for over the years!
Next, it’s time to have the parade on in the background while we make some more food. I love the old balloons and characters we see. It’s tradition to ask if the boys see them even though they’re looking right at the screen. During all of this, we call the relatives that we won’t be seeing that day. There’s a festive feel to the house, and by this time it smells so good!
Finally, When Santa is seen going down the street, it’s our signal for the feast! Although, some people might be starting to already feel a little full…umm the guys from picking at the turkey and the youngest from grabbing a roll or two. I love it!
I continue the tradition my great-grandma had for a prayer that is more than five words, and my dad has to mention how long it is. Tradition! Hey, it’s God who provided everything we have, so he just has to deal with the smells coming from his plate without touching the food for a few minutes!
The character trait for today is Contentment-realizing that true happiness does not depend on material conditions (definition from characterfirst.com).
Are our Thanksgivings always perfect? No way! For the first several years my cranberry sauce was HORRIBLE! We would laugh because I was bound and determine to try again. It became a tradition to make it and have it all runny. We still laugh when I run to the fridge and say that we can’t forget the cranberry sauce. Everyone groans and cringes even though it’s really good now! Also, I don’t know how many years I spent in close contact with God while praying, “God, please, please let the turkey be done.”
Today, have a great Thanksgiving and really allow yourself to be content no matter what’s going on around you. If you’re sitting down to the meal by yourself today, remember that you aren’t alone. You have the most important guest dining right beside you. If you’re missing a loved one, I’m so sorry. May your burdens become lighter and your memories be happy.
