My Thanksgiving

I thought for this week’s blog, it would be fitting to write about Thanksgiving. Then I quickly figured out there isn’t much I can write that hasn’t been written before. So I am going to tell you what this holiday means to me and what I like about it.

This is an adopted holiday for me since I migrated to this country about 40 years ago. I didn’t grow up with Thanksgiving traditions and didn’t experience my first Thanksgiving until the age of 18 when I came here. Once I formed our family and we had our kids, this holiday became even more important to me.

We always have tried to have Thanksgiving at our house and make it a big occasion with family and friends. I took the role of cooking all the foods and Sheri has taken the role of making our home beautiful and comfortable for the visiting guests. Yes, most of our family stays for a few days and she has to feed them other meals as well!

In recent years, my daughter has started to help with the food and enjoys it as much as I do. In the last 5-6 years, our turkey has become a deep fried turkey, which I cook in front of everyone on our patio. The act of dropping the turkey (actually lowering it gently) in the fryer has become a part of the tradition of this holiday for us. My sausage and artichoke stuffing is a must have and my son loves my corn chowder soup.

I also ask my kids and/or one of the younger people to specifically talk about what we are thankful for before we eat.

As you see, we have learned to celebrate this wonderful holiday as it has many traditions and the great purpose of bringing family and friends together. We mainly celebrate it to remind ourselves, our kids, our family, and our friends why we are thankful. I personally like to use the word “grateful” to express my thanks and gratitude.

• I am grateful that my parents sent me here to better myself.
• I am grateful that I was able to become successful and have a wonderful life.
• I am grateful for my wonderful wife and kids.
• I am grateful for our health.
• I am grateful to have all of you as family and friends.
• I am grateful that after 31 years of work I can have the time to do the fun things in my life.

It’s easy to be ungrateful for the bad things that happen to us (like cancellation of my medical insurance due to Obamacare) but being grateful for the good things create a positive energy that can change our attitude towards our family, our work, and life in general. As Jon Gordon says: “We can't be stressed and thankful at the same time. If we are feeling blessed we can't be stressed.”

So on Thursday, no matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, what kind of foods you make, and how you prepare your turkey, take the time to pause and think of all the things that you are thankful and grateful. I am sure you could come up with many no matter what your situation is.