Bittersweet Thanksgiving...

I’ve always loved Thanksgiving for all the appropriate reasons – pie and leftover turkey sandwiches and such – but mostly because of the people.  In my life, Thanksgiving has always been a low commitment day of gathering and love.

I know that some people stress and worry over the dinner, the guest list, table decor and things I couldn’t care less about.  My experience has always been one of open doors, open arms, and open hearts.  Of course, there are favorite dishes, family recipes, and timing the turkey, but my focus has always been on ensuring there are enough chairs for everyone who may come.

I love pulling it together. As a young single girl, I’d gather friends who couldn’t travel to be with their family for a “homeless” thanksgiving.  That continued after my husband and I married, and everyone was welcome.  Often, there were paper plates and folding chairs, but there was always love. Bad jokes, old stories, sometimes forgotten cranberries.  Always love.

My husband rolled his eyes nearly every time I said it, but I often raised my glass to give thanks that “my blessings are greater than my stressings”. I stand by that.

There’s no denying that the last two years have been pretty awful. I lost my brother at the same time my husband was in a hospital bed. He was here last Thanksgiving but really too weak to enjoy it or even to join us at the table. Still, I considered myself blessed.

This year, I lost my husband. My children lost their father. My mother and a brother both had serious health scares. Many would say Thanksgiving isn’t important, but it is.  In the midst of the storm, we were held up and supported by people who love us and helped us get through. If that isn’t a reason for gratitude, then I don’t know what is.

I’m not cooking a turkey or setting a table this year.  Instead, I’m taking my girls on a road trip. We’ll spend a few days at the beach.  We’ll meet up with my husband’s brother, and we’ll share Thanksgiving with their 90+ grandmother (my girls’ great grandmother), their uncle, and cousins.  The South FL Cuban family that couldn’t be here for the funeral.  I expect some tears, but what I really expect is hugs, stories, laughter, and more hugs. Thanks Giving.

Certainly, it will be bittersweet but I believe it will be what we most need. I fully expect my husband to roll his eyes at me from the other side when I talk about my Attitude of Gratitude and say that my Blessing Are Greater Than My Stressings.  That’s OK.  I stand by it.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  May your gravy overflow and your pie supply be abundant.