I realized today that in seven seasons of the Golden Girls, not one episode is about Thanksgiving.  I am not sure why the light bulb went off today, as I have seen every episode, uncut, at least one hundred times. So, todays post is nothing about the Girls, but about me and my favorite holiday.

I suppose I was thinking about Thanksgiving because I celebrated it with my children three weeks before the actual holiday. Now that my children are grown ups with jobs, families, pets, and in-laws I try to accommodate their schedules. I live nearly three hours from them and getting them all here at the same time often proves to be a challenge.

I love Thanksgiving, it has become my favorite holiday. I so enjoy the cooking and the gathering of family. It’s not a time for gifts, costumes or fireworks. It is a time to celebrate those for which you are thankful. Being a Christian home it’s a time for us to thank God for all of the blessings in our lives.

Thanksgiving, to me, is a time of reflection. While I am preparing our family meal I am often thinking about when my children were small and our family was large. I am not sure when it happened, but as my mother aged Thanksgiving became my holiday to host. I loved it, I didn’t have to travel with three small children and cooking and hosting parties is kind of my thing.

Over the years things have changed. Marriages, divorces, deaths and moving. The gatherings have become smaller, but more intimate. Although I love my extended family, it’s sometimes nice to celebrate with only my children and their families. I still do most of the cooking and miss out on conversations, but when I was cooking lunch and dinner for nearly 30, I missed more than just a few conversations.

This year our Thanksgiving celebration was a bit hectic, but was so enjoyable.  We had a car breakdown, (nothing major which was a blessing), dinner was about four hours late, an extra dog walk had to be planned for pups left at home, my dog went bat crazy on my daughters new pup and he had to be sequestered to the bedroom (my dog, not hers), and my grandson lost his glasses which created an all hands on deck hunt. Overall a normal, wonderful day!

Celebrating early has really messed with my holiday clock. It’s still a week and a half until the actual Thanksgiving day and I so want to decorate for Christmas and feel pressured to get my shopping and baking done. Maybe our gathering has only a little to do with my sense of urgency; have you seen the stores?  There have been Christmas items lining the aisles’ since before Halloween.  I’ll admit I do enjoy walking around looking at all the new decorations and doodads, but could we please celebrate one holiday at a time?

Before this turns into a rant about commerce, greed and an overkill of holidays at the end of each year, I will attempt a segue back to Thanksgiving and close with the things for which I am most thankful.

First and foremost I am thankful for my husband. He is amazing. He is the most patient and kind person that I have ever met. He is my best friend and every day spent with him is better than the one before.

I am also thankful for my children. I feel so blessed to see them succeeding at life. Whether it be in their jobs or relationships they all three have a “can do” attitude and accomplish most things that they set their minds to.  I love the adults that they have become, although I sometimes miss them needing mom. Knowing that they don’t tells me that I did a good job.

I am thankful for my grandson. What a wonderful little guy. He is so handsome, smart, and has a great personality. I cherish the time that I get to spend with him.

I am thankful for my siblings and my extended family. We don’t get together much, but they are always there for me with encouragement, prayers and sometimes just a good conversation to catch up on things.

I am thankful for America. We live in the greatest free country in the world. I am thankful for all of the men and women who fight for our freedom, especially those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in the fight.

I am thankful to God and the sacrifice of his son. It doesn’t matter what country you live in or your status in life, without Jesus living within your heart, there is no true freedom. I have been so blessed with family, friends and a great place to live all because of Him.

I will close with a final thought to take into your holiday season. As you celebrate this year remember to be thankful, not only on Thanksgiving, but every day.  Don’t allow the commercialism or busyness of Christmas make you lose sight of the reason that we celebrate.  There is no greater freedom than the one we find in Jesus Christ.

Until we meet again…Thank You for Being a Friend,

MG