Thanksgiving 2009
So, {{enter soap box}} the media and retail industry has declared war on Thanksgiving and called today “The Kick off to the Holiday Season” (first how utterly pathetic: It is like saying “Let’s teach our kids on one day we need to say what we are thankful for and quick grab that box on the shelf before that other kid does”. Ick.
What about the other 364 days of the year? Hey top that with focusing on how gluttonous we become for the next 36 hours: shopping for everything that has apparently and obviously made our life incomplete, empty, and void of any meaning up until this point… really.
Nope – not for me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I would definitely have a list if told I was going shopping… and I would think long and hard, where and what time to be there… what I would buy and for whom, along the way I would get irritated at the fact that someone keeps bumping my cart, that someone else took the last “IT” toy, that there might not be enough room on that credit card, that a coffee would be great but not great enough to stand in that long line, that the checkout girl wasn’t smiling enough, that the server didn’t bring enough of something, that someone bumped me again with their cart, and overall start to think that “everyone else” is pushy and just plain old rude. Good Luck shoppers… I take that back. Good Luck to anyone and everyone working in any type of retail or restaurant environment over the next 48 hours.
So, I am not going shopping this weekend. Not because of my soap box rant, rather more of a “solid respect for the economic standings in my house” (being laid off for 9 months does that to some) note the attempt at a positive spin – wink wink….
For me today is more about acknowledging me. Who I am, where I have been, and how very blessed – no matter the sunshine or dark hours…I am blessed and thankful for each and every memory that I hold.
See, when I was a kid, money wasn’t something that grew on trees or on plastic. Money was something that was rare and not, how do you say it… not plentiful… the few $’s had paid for the oil in the old house for the heat to be turned on in the middle of February when I was 15, and instead of remembering it in a bad way (us wearing our gloves and jackets to bed and being able to see our breath in the hours) I remember how hard each of us laughed (laughed until our cheeks hurt) looking at each other and the silly thought that wearing our winter wear to bed might just keep us warm enough for the next two days until the heat would get turned back on. I remember how mom always knew right when to make hot chocolate or ramen noodles and that she hid her Haagen Daas in the freezer and would sneak in the pantry to take a bite because it was the one thing that was hers. I remember my sister and brother being best of friends, I remember road trips and Ohio and the race track; and I remember that when everyone else was going to get the latest Twin’s Jersey and Guess Jeans, new shoes, or whatever… mom would do things different (and today I know why she did it different)… like when she made a “party” at home for us to watch the final game of ‘87 World Series… I thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was just like at the ballpark (or so I told myself, I had never been)
Looking back now, that is just one of hundreds of amazing memories I hold dear… See it makes it so much more of a grateful moment and here is why ~
I have my days when I wonder why can’t I just draw a couple more zeros on this $10 bill… and then I just have to remember…that party I hold dear wasn’t fancy or expensive or new. Nope, it was hotdogs in a paper tray, popcorn in a brown bag, and soda that was put in a fountain container from the gas station… but mom did what she could and used what she had to make it memorable. God love her… she always has done that. To anyone who knows her… you can safely say that your life is better because you know her. That party was one that I will never forget. One that I hope my kids can experience and someday look back and see – you don’t need the best and newest… you just need the effort and love.
So what to be thankful for?
{{{Here is where I “speak from the mountain top for the world (aka internet) to hear”}}}
My amazing children… God blessed me with children and believes that I might be an okay mom… there are days I don’t see how He could ever think that, but you can’t argue with God as far as I have discovered people have tried, I just don’t think anyone has ever won…) ~~~~~I am thankful for my best friend and husband… that no matter how many times I tell him he is my third child, he just laughs, gives me a big hug, and looks at me with those amazing sparkling eyes… and says with a sideways smile “I love you honey.” Good grief… that does actually make the whole world better ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my amazing sister, with whom I don’t quite know I would be breathing today had she not been there at my side for so many years… not quite sure how I will ever get her to understand ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my mom. {{{Enter more tears and more tissues please}}} If there is a chance that I can be a tenth of the mom she was and is… then I will wear my red cape with pride… she will even tell you she didn’t make all the right choices – but she made every choice for the sake of each of us. Every single big and small every last one for her kids ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my in-laws who show tenacity in everyday things and that no matter how many times one might fall down (no pun intended) you get right back up, smile, laugh, and keep on going ~~~~~~~~ I am thankful for each of my other family members and the memories I, even now, smile at and remember with fondness ~~~~~~
Those memories are mine and I get to love them and remember them, no matter if the times were all good or not. Knowing that by simply acknowledging they exist makes life that much easier and better (and breathtaking and overwhelming).
Today is a holiday. But I have seen through those I love that any day, any random day in the 365 day year is a day to stop and just step back and see how truly blessed each of us are. There is always a silver line, in everything. Sometimes you have to look a little harder or from a different angle. It took me 20 years to remember my mom’s MN Twins party, to really remember it. Once I did, it was a life lesson I will never again forget.
Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe, don’t over extend yourself, and don’t push your cart into others… just give it a second and smile.
DevinAnne ©
What about the other 364 days of the year? Hey top that with focusing on how gluttonous we become for the next 36 hours: shopping for everything that has apparently and obviously made our life incomplete, empty, and void of any meaning up until this point… really.
Nope – not for me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I would definitely have a list if told I was going shopping… and I would think long and hard, where and what time to be there… what I would buy and for whom, along the way I would get irritated at the fact that someone keeps bumping my cart, that someone else took the last “IT” toy, that there might not be enough room on that credit card, that a coffee would be great but not great enough to stand in that long line, that the checkout girl wasn’t smiling enough, that the server didn’t bring enough of something, that someone bumped me again with their cart, and overall start to think that “everyone else” is pushy and just plain old rude. Good Luck shoppers… I take that back. Good Luck to anyone and everyone working in any type of retail or restaurant environment over the next 48 hours.
So, I am not going shopping this weekend. Not because of my soap box rant, rather more of a “solid respect for the economic standings in my house” (being laid off for 9 months does that to some) note the attempt at a positive spin – wink wink….
For me today is more about acknowledging me. Who I am, where I have been, and how very blessed – no matter the sunshine or dark hours…I am blessed and thankful for each and every memory that I hold.
See, when I was a kid, money wasn’t something that grew on trees or on plastic. Money was something that was rare and not, how do you say it… not plentiful… the few $’s had paid for the oil in the old house for the heat to be turned on in the middle of February when I was 15, and instead of remembering it in a bad way (us wearing our gloves and jackets to bed and being able to see our breath in the hours) I remember how hard each of us laughed (laughed until our cheeks hurt) looking at each other and the silly thought that wearing our winter wear to bed might just keep us warm enough for the next two days until the heat would get turned back on. I remember how mom always knew right when to make hot chocolate or ramen noodles and that she hid her Haagen Daas in the freezer and would sneak in the pantry to take a bite because it was the one thing that was hers. I remember my sister and brother being best of friends, I remember road trips and Ohio and the race track; and I remember that when everyone else was going to get the latest Twin’s Jersey and Guess Jeans, new shoes, or whatever… mom would do things different (and today I know why she did it different)… like when she made a “party” at home for us to watch the final game of ‘87 World Series… I thought it was the coolest thing ever! It was just like at the ballpark (or so I told myself, I had never been)
Looking back now, that is just one of hundreds of amazing memories I hold dear… See it makes it so much more of a grateful moment and here is why ~
I have my days when I wonder why can’t I just draw a couple more zeros on this $10 bill… and then I just have to remember…that party I hold dear wasn’t fancy or expensive or new. Nope, it was hotdogs in a paper tray, popcorn in a brown bag, and soda that was put in a fountain container from the gas station… but mom did what she could and used what she had to make it memorable. God love her… she always has done that. To anyone who knows her… you can safely say that your life is better because you know her. That party was one that I will never forget. One that I hope my kids can experience and someday look back and see – you don’t need the best and newest… you just need the effort and love.
So what to be thankful for?
{{{Here is where I “speak from the mountain top for the world (aka internet) to hear”}}}
My amazing children… God blessed me with children and believes that I might be an okay mom… there are days I don’t see how He could ever think that, but you can’t argue with God as far as I have discovered people have tried, I just don’t think anyone has ever won…) ~~~~~I am thankful for my best friend and husband… that no matter how many times I tell him he is my third child, he just laughs, gives me a big hug, and looks at me with those amazing sparkling eyes… and says with a sideways smile “I love you honey.” Good grief… that does actually make the whole world better ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my amazing sister, with whom I don’t quite know I would be breathing today had she not been there at my side for so many years… not quite sure how I will ever get her to understand ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my mom. {{{Enter more tears and more tissues please}}} If there is a chance that I can be a tenth of the mom she was and is… then I will wear my red cape with pride… she will even tell you she didn’t make all the right choices – but she made every choice for the sake of each of us. Every single big and small every last one for her kids ~~~~~~~ I am thankful for my in-laws who show tenacity in everyday things and that no matter how many times one might fall down (no pun intended) you get right back up, smile, laugh, and keep on going ~~~~~~~~ I am thankful for each of my other family members and the memories I, even now, smile at and remember with fondness ~~~~~~
Those memories are mine and I get to love them and remember them, no matter if the times were all good or not. Knowing that by simply acknowledging they exist makes life that much easier and better (and breathtaking and overwhelming).
Today is a holiday. But I have seen through those I love that any day, any random day in the 365 day year is a day to stop and just step back and see how truly blessed each of us are. There is always a silver line, in everything. Sometimes you have to look a little harder or from a different angle. It took me 20 years to remember my mom’s MN Twins party, to really remember it. Once I did, it was a life lesson I will never again forget.
Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe, don’t over extend yourself, and don’t push your cart into others… just give it a second and smile.
DevinAnne ©
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