Thankful

I know it is not a Holiday shared around the world, but today is "Thanksgiving" in the US, and while on the surface it seems an opportunity to eat grotesque amounts of delicious, delectable, perhaps debilitating food - it does carry a much deeper meaning, once you've waded through all those buckets of gravy. I like the idea of having a day where you surround yourself with family, friends, or ideally both, break down the walls, and let your gratitude shine without reservation.

I've missed out on the past few Thanksgivings here as my dance card took me to Europe, which means now that I'm back Stateside and actually IN my hometown, I can once again break bread (and corn and turkey and cranberry and stuffing and pie!) with my family. This is a thing NOT to be taken for granted. Of course since it has been several years, the two empty chairs at the table where my parents used to sit will feel devastatingly empty, but with this being a day of "thanks", I get to remember how fortunate I was to enter into their family and be called their daughter.

Now the table rattles with the laughter of nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, in-laws, and abundant memories, and that is a beautiful thing. Even in a moment where there seems to exist an unending plethora of bad news for the world, I'm choosing to drown in beauty and laughter and music and love. I search out these things, working (hard!) to fill my mind with thoughts that make me smile, even as the worries of the world seem to belligerently continue knocking on the door.

Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you do, I thank you for reading and supporting me and wish you only the most wonderful things for your life and family!!! I plan on enjoying this last little feast before I storm back to work with a fury - do take your time and relish the moment, as well!! CHEERS!