Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day

A day to feast and to give thanks for the bountiful harvest of our lives.

The first cry of our first child born into the world . . .

Our earliest memory of Christmas morning . . .

The smile on the face of a grandchild looking into your eyes . . .

The first time you observed the glory that is a sunrise just beginning to peek over the hills . . .

A sunset, just after a monsoon rain . . .

The first time you looked into the eyes of your loved one and realized you were madly, deeply in love . . .

The sight of the first snowflakes of the season, beginning to blanket the earth, covering it with a pristine blanket, whispering to you of silence . . .

Then, the sight of the first crocus piercing the blanket of snow, promising the return of Spring . . .

The sight of your child walking down the aisle, resplendent in a gossamer gown, with eyes glowing with love and expectation, promising her loved one to bring a life together, filled with love . . .

A grandchild taking a first step without guidance . . .

Seated at a table, resplendent with color, glittering china and crystal, flickering candles, sumptuous delicacies each prepared with love and high skill, and gazing into the eyes of assembled family members, and saying La Familia . . . to our family, because family surrounds us with love, memories, and links to the past and to the future.

So many things to consider, so many things for which we are grateful.

Such is life.

Be grateful

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

The season is upon us. That season within which we are given to understand that peace is near, or perhaps it surrounds us, were we only smart enough to understand.

Thanksgiving is a peculiar celebration. On the one hand, it is a celebration that the nation’s Pilgrim ancestors managed to survive, and perhaps even to prosper. The Pilgrims needed to survive the winters, potentially hostile critters, and the actual Native Americans who did not yet understand the intent of the incoming European hordes.  There were not yet bankers roaming the land looking for ways to steal from them. But they survived, and led us to this land of plenty.

So, it is a time to give thanks for the plenty in our lives, and, in our case, we have much to be thankful for. Given the state of the world, we are fortunate that we live in a place that is based, sometimes, on  law, and on civil values . . . sometimes.  King Bloomberg in New York is trying his best to stamp out such foolishness. For the time being, the police seem to be on his side . . . for the time being.

But we do not live in the police state of Manhattan. Here in Concord, life for us is still peaceful. Despite the best intent of America’s bankers to rob us of our retirement assets, our financial planner has been diligent, and some money still survives. So, we must also give thanks to Mr. Keith Riley for his due diligence.

We will enjoy a Thanksgiving meal worthy, at least, of the nation’s ancestors—the Pilgrims. Surely, our groaning board exceeds anything they enjoyed, for this is still the land of plenty.

Our children and our grandchildren are healthy and prosper in most useful ways.  We give thanks for that and we wish our friends and family all that is good in the world. May life be fair to you in this holiday season.

And to all, Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is Over

Thanksgiving is Over . . . or is It?
So, we gathered together, all 23 of us, to celebrate the plenty in our lives. In my growing up years, a family gathering might include six or seven people, never more. Now, having moved around the country and globe, and finally settling here in North Carolina, our extended family has grown, and settled within hailing distance—from New York to Alabama. And we do come together now and again. Babies, old people, and lots in between.
We gather together partly just to be together. But we also have to celebrate the goodness in our collective lives, and the soon to arrive addition to the family—another beautiful soul to join our ranks. Happily, these gatherings are without the family battles that often characterize large families. We don’t all think alike, but that seems to be ok. I guess it’s a sign of health that we are able to tolerate each other’s quirks, and beliefs, mainly because we love one another, and we have this family tie thing. We have some history together, and when we recount some of that history—tales told over and over—everyone laughs, or groans. We also note during our gatherings the missing ones—some now gone from this earth, others just residing in different places around the globe, but all still remembered. The missing are part of our gathering, in spirit if not physical presence.
So, we gathered, and then in an instant, we dispersed, scattered again to places near and far. But we all left behind within each person, a small memory fragment, of good times, and shared emotions. It is the memory fragments that provide the ties that bind, to be renewed at each similar gathering. The ties are strengthened, the extended family grows slightly, and we become, like another universe, spinning around one another.
Nice.