It Was Just An e-Greeting

It read, "Let our lives be our Thanksgiving".

I've been turning that phrase over in my mind for the last eight hours.

Is my life my Thanksgiving? In some ways, yes.

I give thanks each morning for the blessings of another day: to hear my daughter play in her crib and see my husband across the breakfast table; for the ability to taste fresh fruit and touch warm laundry and smell the rain.

I give thanks each afternoon for the confidence that the schoolbus winding through my neighborhood carries only children, not bombs. I know that such confidence is a luxury. I give thanks for the ability to bend and stretch and walk without pain, and I'm grateful to have enough food to prepare dinner for my family.

I give thanks each night that I live in this country, where despite religious, political, racial and social discord, I am free to believe what I want to believe and free to speak it openly.

Is my life my Thanksgiving? In some ways, no.

In line at the bank, I'm more likely to feel impatient with waiting than grateful that I have money to withdraw.

Bagging leaves in my yard, I sometimes feel annoyed at the chore rather than grateful for the beauty and wonder of mature trees.

My To Do list is too long, the weekends are too short, and my family too far away. Or I'm blessed to have a full life, two days off every week, and reasons to roadtrip to eight other states. It all depends on how I look at it.

It was just an e-greeting, but I'm keeping it in my Inbox. I may need the reminder a few days from now when I'm scrubbing crayon off the wall.

Sally Bacchetta - Freelance Writer
Freelance Writer
Parenting
Motherhood