“Not another thing to add to my list of an insane amount of things to do. If I add one more deadline to my agenda I might go crazy. More demands? Cleaning? Who cares about a clean house when everything else is demanding to get done and seems so much more important? I mean seriously, no one cares if there’s spiders crawling around their plates or that it’s dust on the mashed potatoes instead of pepper, right?”
These might be your thoughts in the middle of November. As Thanksgiving approaches and falls in the middle of your busy life. As the chaos is interrupted for five minutes, and the things you are grateful for fill your heart for all of two seconds before you continue stuffing your face full of food and your mind once again bombards you all of life’s demands.
Of course, this is also the day where you are thrown into a midst of questions that all hit like cannonballs in the middle of a warzone. “How’s college?” Yes, let me tell you all about college.. That is obviously the thing I want to think about while I’m trying to be thankful. “Are you still single after all these years? I can’t believe a girl like you hasn’t been caught (like a fly in a spider web or a stray dog?) by now. Do you enjoy being alone?” Yes, every college girl loves this bundle of questions. It’s exactly what she wants to think about any day of the year, especially on a holiday. This is when all those Hallmark movies where two people pretend to be dating so they don’t have to answer that question all start to make sense (because, let’s face we used to think they were crazy) and the temptation to make something up flies across your mind way more times than you’d like to admit.
In the midst of all of these questions, you are more grateful than ever for the food sitting right in front of you, calling your name loud and clear - so you can pretend you didn’t hear any of those questions, of course. Then, after the food is all gone, you are thankful you can start cleaning up the kitchen to escape such questions - and here we thought we’d never be thankful to have stuff to clean.
Honestly, in the midst of all of this, I’m more grateful than ever to be surrounded with the crazy but awesome family I’ve been blessed with. I wouldn’t want to spend my Thanksgiving any other way. I mean, it just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t get to participate in teasing my uncle over spelling cute with a Q and quick with a K. It’s also a necessity to relive my aunts disastrous coffee making that she will probably never be able to live down (I don’t see how coffee could get any worse than its usual burnt dirt status, but evidently it can when my aunt makes it). As everyone takes turns telling funny stories, and everyone (thank goodness, finally not just me) gets teased I look around at all the smiling faces and realize how truly blessed I am to have such an amazing family.
When I’m surrounded by these amazing people, I’m reminded to take a few seconds every day and remember how good God is. A few seconds to remember how worthy He is of being thanked every single day, not just on Thanksgiving. He has given me a family that loves me and is always there for me - family and friends who make me laugh when I’m so tired I just want to give up and sleep on the steps because it would take to much effort to walk up them. While stressful, I’m also thankful to be given the opportunity to go to college and pursue my dreams. I’m thankful for all of the opportunities I’ve had to travel the world, the people I’ve met along the way, and those who have touched my heart in ways I never could have dreamed of. Most of all, I’m thankful for my Creator, my Savior, my Heavenly Father who is my joy, peace, and comfort in the midst of all that life throws at me - for the one who has given me so very much to be thankful for.
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