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Of all the holidays we celebrate, Thanksgiving is the stepchild. Thanksgiving falls between Halloween and Christmas. If you go by merchandise sold in conjunction with this holiday, Thanksgiving barely moves the needle. Everyone knows when we have Christmas (December 25th) and Halloween (October 31st), but Thanksgiving? It’s on a Thursday.
You see Halloween decorations go up in neighborhoods in late September and Christmas decorations going up around Thanksgiving. I get the feeling that Thanksgiving is simply the kickoff for Christmas. I’m writing this article on Veterans’ Day, another unappreciated holiday, but that’s another article.
Personally, I like Thanksgiving for many of the same reasons other people enjoy this holiday. I like to eat, watch football, and eat some more. What makes watching football and eating extra enjoyable is I’m with my family – both families. Our usual Thanksgiving schedule goes like this: We eat lunch with one family, hang out a few hours, go to a football game, eat Thanksgiving dinner #2 with the second family on Friday, then spend Saturday watching football in a stupor.
It sounds so cliché to talk about giving thanks on Thanksgiving, but that’s what I do. I’m grateful for my family, my wife, Susan, my mother and father, who are about to turn 92 and 93 respectively, my brother and sister, and a growing tribe of nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, nieces-in-law and nephews-in-law and nieces-in-law to be.
I think about grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts and uncles who are no longer with us, but I smile thinking of them – especially Aunt Trudy and Uncle Carter. Physically, they are not with us, but their legacy lives on.
During Thanksgiving, I realize how lucky I am. No, my life isn’t perfect, but it takes longer to list things I am grateful for than it takes to list things I need. Like the song says (and I paraphrase), “You can’t always get what you want; but if you have what you need you are really ahead of the game.”
Enjoy your families and let them enjoy you. Laugh at your uncle’s jokes even if you have heard them before. I apologize ahead of time to my nieces and nephews for saying for the umpteenth time as I plow into my dinner, “My body is a temple and I’m about to expand it.” It really was funny in 1999. My cats really like Thanksgiving. After two solid days of eating, they have a bigger and fluffier lap to sleep on.
I hope all of you have a wonderful, stress-free, and happy Thanksgiving.
-- Joe Ray
