Thanksgiving

On Thursday of this week, it will be the American Thanksgiving Day Holiday.

I love Thanksgiving.

For most of the Thanksgiving Day's in my life, it has been a holiday with just my husband and I.   We get up early, and go run the New Orleans Athletic Club Turkey Day Race.

Then we come home, and eat turkey, and macaroni and cheese and drink Nouveau Beaujolais and watch football.

And it is a wonderful day.

And I feel really blessed and thankful that my Thanksgiving is so predictable and so happy.

Because it is just not that way for so many people.

For many people, Thanksgiving is a really hard day.  For some, it is hard because they are estranged from their family. For some, it is hard because they will be with their family, and that family is unaccepting of them and their life choices.  For some it is hard because they want to be with family, but can't afford to be, or have obligations, like military service, that demand they be somewhere far away.  For some it is hard because the person they love the most no longer shares this plane of existence.

So, as I am going about my preparations, and feeling filled up with happiness and good will, I am trying to send all the loving thoughts I can out to those who are struggling this week.

I ask all of you reading this, as you think about what you are thankful for and the gifts and blessings in your life, that you also send a request out to your higher power, or whatever positive force in the universe you believe in, to send comfort and healing to the hurting.

I know I can't fix what is broken for so many hurting hearts.

But I can recognize that this national holiday is a very difficult day for a lot of people.  And in that recognition, I accept that someday, it may be a very difficult day for me.

I hope that if I put enough love into the universe, that there will be a surplus for me when I need to pull some back.

So love and good karma and prayers to all of you.   May you be fortunate enough to celebrate the gifts you have to be thankful for while you have them.   And may the love in the universe comfort you when you miss those gifts.

To all those reading this, you are one of the things that I am thankful for.