Going Around the Table

When I was a little kid, whenever Thanksgiving rolled around, my parents insisted that we go around the table and share what we were thankful for. Those moments have long since passed, but it's one of my warmest memories from this special holiday, Thanksgiving.

Looking back on those memories around our rarely used dining room table, tears well in my eyes. They are beautiful memories, and I wish I had been a little more thoughtful on a few of my turns (especially during those, ahem, teenage years). As a mother of two young children now, I want to make sure they have beautiful and fond memories of their Thanksgivings past.

This year, we're spending Thanksgiving with my husband's family. They don't go around the table and talk about what they're thankful for, but it's a celebration of thanks nonetheless. Since we won't be sharing our thoughts tomorrow, I thought I'd share them now.

As asked by my daddy for so many Thanksgivings, "Elizabeth, what are you thankful for this year?"

I am thankful for my beloved daughters. They are my light and my reason for being. I love them with my whole heart.

I am thankful for my husband, my rock, my best friend. I thank him for the gift of our two darlings. I thank him for loving me with all my flaws.

I am thankful for my family--my parents, siblings, my niece and nephew, my in-laws and extended family. I really am a lucky lady.

I am thankful for my friends.

I am thankful for finding a craft (cooking!) that fulfills me, and I thank my husband for supporting me in all the homemade craziness.

I am thankful for the recipes passed to me by family and friends. Thank you for helping warm our hearts and fill our tummies.

I am thankful for a job that's challenging and keeps me on my toes. (Though, I'd be even more thankful if my schedule calmed down a bit.)

I am thankful and grateful for all that we have, and will try harder to give more to those who have less.

So, now, in my family's tradition and as I wipe tears from my eyes, it's my turn to ask, "What are you thankful for this year?"

Happy Thanksgiving!