Being Thankful

I am thankful for:

Peace
A warm home
A porch light
Health
Laughter
Love
My family
Steadfast friends
Gentlemen
Dogs that know I like dogs
Cats that like me
Freshly cut grass
A good pair of Levis
Black turtleneck sweaters
Memory
Strength
The History Channel

Thanksgiving was the only day we said grace at the dinner table when I was young. My father would ask us to take a moment to remember the underprivileged in other parts of the world, and those who did not have enough to eat, insisting that we were very lucky, indeed, to be sitting down to such a fine dinner together.

Then he’d make quite a show of sharpening the carving knife by drawing the blade back and forth menacingly against the steel. He’d carve the turkey right there at the dinner table, offering the drumstick to the latest/newest boyfriend or girlfriend attending. If both my brother and I had dates present, both drumsticks were offered up, one to each guest. Usually our dates were too polite to turn down the drumstick (or anything else for that matter, particularly after the sharpening spectacle). It was always interesting to discover which new-found friend would spend dinnertime wrestling the thing with a knife and fork and who would opt to lift and nibble. Let’s face it, it’s difficult to make a good impression when one is gnawing away at a turkey leg.

At my place, we carve our turkey in the kitchen and send the plates out to the diningroom. Unless someone requests a drumstick, they are used for leftovers. There doesn’t seem to be enough time to take a breath, let alone take a moment to speak before we eat, but in memory of my father, I do try to say something at Thanksgiving and remind everyone why we are gathered at the dinner table. Then we gobble (no pun intended) up our dinner, hit the desserts and coffee drinks, and zip! That’s all she wrote (or cooked).

I love our big meals together and even though we don’t say grace at the table, I give thanks every day for my family and am grateful for this world and all the mysteries that surround us.

Photo Credit

Beautiful Table With Thanksgiving Food @ Flickr

Recent Margaret Blackwood Articles:

• Leave Beacon Hill Park Alone
• It's the Thought that Counts
• Being Thankful
• Looking Forward, Looking Back
• Don't Call Me Ma'am