I love Christmas, but sometimes I feel like we forget about Thanksgiving in all the uproar of the holiday season.

Thanksgiving is simply about giving thanks, sharing time with family and good friends, and remembering our blessings. Sure, as a child we would dressed up as Native Americans and pilgrims to celebrate the traditional origins and learn to share in our differences, giving thanks for one another, but somewhere along the lines the media frenzy of Christmas, in the spirit of giving and getting, or for some, buying and returning, which by the way is not the meaning of Christmas, has overshadowed the turkey holiday.

It troubles me when we forget the meaning behind the holiday. Underneath the chaos of finding a turkey, making sure the food doesn’t burn, pleasing the plethora of family opinions, and escaping for a brief moment to regain sanity, we will find that the delicious Thanksgiving meal may be good incentive to come to the table, but it is the love of our family and friends, the hope that we find when we remember what we are thankful for, and the faith that grows stronger when we remember our blessings, that keeps us coming to the table every year. No matter how big or small, made of wood or cardboard, glass or cement, the table of Thanksgiving is a reminder that there is always something to be thankful for.

So in honor of the true meaning of Thanksgiving, let me take a moment to share with you some of things I am thankful for…

I am thankful for my family that love me through thick and thin.

For good friends that share my joys and my sorrows.

I am thankful that I can say, “Friends, family what’s the difference?”

I am thankful for late nights and early mornings.

For the times that you laugh so hard you cry and for the times you cry so hard that you laugh.

For the smell of Michigan falls, the winter wonderlands, and the warm sun.

I am thankful for clean water to drink.

I am thankful for a chance to learn.

For the will I have within me to make a positive change.

For the men and women that have fought with valor for freedom.

I am thankful that I am uniquely me.

I am thankful for the bed I sleep in and the clothes I wear.

For a car to drive and a phone to answer.

For a computer to work on and a light to turn on in the darkness.

I am thankful for crazy road trips and family vacations.

I am thankful for the opportunities that have been given and are to come.

For midnight snacks and fourth meal.

For mint chocolate chip ice-cream and butter popcorn.

I am thankful for that song that comes on the radio that you have to jam out to.

I am thankful for movies that you can watch again and again.

For people that make you laugh.

For people that serve with selflessness.

I am thankful for a God who loves me.

I am thankful that the list of things I am thankful for could go on and on.

For I am blessed.

For I am loved.

Photo by: http://turningleafnutritionandwellness.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/did-you-over-indulge/