My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Why? No list of toys to buy, no tree to trim, and...well, this is unique to me...but Thanksgiving is when Babe got down on one knee and asked me to marry his sweet self! So, I love it.
Plus, Thanksgiving just FEELS different...like, what other holiday so much summons that inner place of gratitude? Thanks for country, and for all the other blessings of life. I always wonder who atheists thank. Or even those who believe in God, but don't necessarily find him to be involved in our day-to-day lives. That said, I want to give thanks where I believe that thanks is due, in honor of my favorite holiday.
Lord, thank YOU for my people: Babe (my favorite person E-VER) and the four loud, um, I mean, loved children. Cate is rocking her 7th grade ADVANCED classes, Rihanna is making friends like crazy in 6th grade, Will is my joke-making, basketball-playing, hands-down-favorite son, and Alana is smiling that sweet smile for all of her third grade people.
Thank YOU for our 2 Chihuahuas who, well,... often attack each other. Turns out the people who call Chihuahuas "temperamental" were indeed correct.
Thank YOU for our amazing home...not to sound like a bad country song, but...filled with smelly laundry, cookie crumbs, and laughter (or is that just screaming? Hard to tell). Thank You for our community; we walk out the door and the nations are a step a way in every direction. What a great place to bring up a family composed of two races.
Thank YOU for my besties, the Ya-Ya's who have walked with me for 29 years of life. (Do NOT stop and do that math in your head. Just trust me, I am officially getting pretty close to middle-aged. Or perhaps I have already arrived. I will never tell.) One bestie has just moved across the country (sniff, sniff), but thank God for texting. (Am I right?!)
Lord, thank YOU for my family of origin. (Here I borrow the term that my therapist always called them. Oops, did I just say that out loud?) My trip a year ago with my dad to my sister's wedding in South Africa was a life highlight. I came home and wrote down all the stories you told me. And I swear to keep all the family secrets!! My sister has a new life in South Africa, but I am happy for her to be loved and taken care of. (And excited to see her next week...wondering if her Alabama accent has given way to something a bit fancier?)
Thank YOU for my job! I am Sugar Mama, hear me roar. Here I am, working 50 hours a week, raising four kids like a champ, and keeping the cleanest house on the street. (Warning: the previous sentence contains two blatant lies.) I adore teaching my sweet 6th graders, and I am THAT obnoxious teacher that actually misses them over the holidays. I am also THAT teacher that HOPES I run into them at the grocery store, Bizarre but true. Never leave home without mascara.
Thank YOU for my church...19 years of building relationships with people who are on the same kind of spiritual journey that I am.
Mostly and truly, thank YOU for YOU, Lord. You are so good to us. We fight you, we forget you, we ignore you, but You just keep being awesome.
Lastly, thank YOU for Thanksgiving, a day that reminds me to say all of this!