Giving Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving 2008 and my family and I are spending it quietly at home. The turkey (breast only) is in the oven along with the broccoli and rice casserole. And I’ve already nibbled on the cranberry bread with cream cheese. Yum!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it’a all about community. No gifts are expected, except maybe food or wine. The couch is crowded with family and friends. This is a quiet year for us but it makes it all the sweeter. For Mark’s and my first nine years of marriage, he worked on every Thanksgiving. Around 3 pm, I would bring in plates of food for him and all the rest of the pharmacists on duty. It wasn’t home–it was the hospital’s breakroom. But it felt like family nonetheless.

This year I am especially mindful of the family members I have adopted throughout all our cross country moves. I love my parents, grandma, sisters, nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins, uncles and aunts. And they can all be found in Michigan, holding a place for me everytime I come to visit.

But I also appreciate the girlfriends, couple friends, kids and families who have adopted us along the way. From Michigan to Atlanta, North Carolina and back to Ohio, our extended family stretches across the miles. Some I talk to weekly; some I see monthly for coffee or at the grocery store. Some get a Christmas card and photo from us but remain on my mind all twelve months of the year. And some have left this earthly plain.

Regardless, I feel rich in community. I am well loved and I hope my loved ones know how well they are loved back. And for that I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

N@