Chocolate milk.
The carrot that goes on the face of a snowman.
Baby kittens.
Roller skates.
Strawberry Pop-Tarts.
The grass stains on the knees of my blue jeans.
Rain storms that fill the street gutters.

This is a very, very short list.  A list of things that I can remember being really thankful for in my youth.  I can think of a thousand more from my earliest days, but I am sure it would bore you to tears.  And heaven knows, I don’t want to make you cry.  Not tonight.

It is a happy night.  Or it should be.  This is the Eve.

By this point, a lot of people are exhausted.  They have been working hard….. preparing food and readying the household.  Peeling and pureeing.  Scrubbing and sweeping.  And tonight, they find respite in their little beds, with their little fleece blankets, and cotton covered pillows.  They dream of platters of turkeys, and mountains of pies, and boats filled with gravy.

Then at the crack of dawn, the real bustle begins.  Getting it all mashed and strained, cooked and fried…. all just in time to be placed… ever so carefully on the long cloth-covered tables.  Hours of thinking and planning, shopping and carrying, cooking and cleaning… for this fine moment.

Thanksgiving Day Dinner.  Turkey Day.  The Stuff Your Belly Full Day.  They sit…. to partake in this feast of feasts.

Then.  Fourteen minutes later… the whole big deal is over.  Gobbled.  Chomped.  Burped.  And maybe burped again.

Yet. If most of us are lucky… it really wasn’t the main event.  It was just a layover.  Because on this day, we are reminded to be thankful.  THAT…. is the thing of all things.

Should we really need such a reminder?  If we are lucky, we do not.  You see, on any given day, at any given moment…. even during the darkest and most desperate moments…  there is always a reason to be thankful for.  Sometimes it takes courage to notice.  But most days, this should be as easy as pumpkin pie.  We have life. And breath.  And the spark in our souls.  The most precious gifts of all.

I recently heard an extremely touching account from a person who had been through the unthinkable.  Yet despite this deep sadness and pain …. she found reason to be thankful.   She could smile and be grateful for the world that she is in right now.

All of us…..  are in the midst of this constant flow of energy… we call life.   May we all be thankful to be here together.  May we always remember that we share all of this with one another.  We are very much alike… and at the same time… we are all very different.  Thankfully.

I am grateful for the blessings in my life.  They are infinite and they abound.

I am thankful that I am who I am.  And I am equally thankful that you… are YOU.

Crayons.
Captain Kangaroo.
Baskin-Robbins.
Fluffy clouds.