Today is Thanksgiving. A time for family and friends to gather and feast and laugh and fight and make up and remember and miss those who've left us. I am thinking about my parents, too soon gone from my life, and dear friends who are missing their loved ones as well. And a friend whose mother is fighting for her life as the rest of us prepare for the holiday.
Sometimes it is hard to be thankful when beloved family members are no longer in your life and the family has gradually scattered. It often seems that the family dynamic has changed, loosened or stretched. Where you find yourself biting your tongue when you know something is wrong just to keep the peace. When attending the family gathering is not so important anymore to some members of the family and deep down inside you feel a little pain. Or if it seems as if some are trying too hard to enjoy themselves when it is obvious they are not.
You often wonder if you are letting your memories of holidays past color your expectations for the present. Maybe your own life has changed and you wonder if the effort you are making to maintain tradition is what has skewed the experience.
And then you realize that you have so much to be thankful for in spite of your loss. Life is about change, some good, some harsh, some fun, some not. So be thankful for what you have now, and let the past be the framework for the changes of the future. Be thankful for the memories you carry in your heart, and the people who made them possible.
Miss you, Mom and Dad.
And thanks.
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