A New Tradition

Thanksgiving this year was different for us in that we elected not to travel to family even though the weather would have allowed. Instead we decided to focus on our blessings and demonstrate our thanks for them - something we felt was much better than worrying about how much food we could eat or how many football games we could watch.

We demonstrated our thankfulness for good health by getting some good exercise at the gym. Boychild is working on his Personal Fitness merit badge and I was smack dab in the middle of the area biggest loser contest so for both of us, working out was important. I was able to show him some new exercises, with and without using hand held weights, that he could incorporate into his own fitness routine. And he had a great time trying new exercise equipment.

We demonstrated our thankfulness for family by calling those relatives we were not able to see due to our lack of travel (and in at least one instance due to their own lack of travel as well) and by sharing stories of relatives who have passed. Today would have been the birthday of my maternal grandmother (80th) who died 3.5 years ago - she was especially in our thoughts that day.

We demonstrated our thankfulness for food on our table and a roof over our heads by volunteering to help with a dinner put on by one of the local churches - over 400 meals were served that day. Our job? We elected to do clean up because no one ever wants to do it. The kids were great at wiping tables and folding table clothes. They put a lot of energy into stacking chairs, sweeping and mopping floors. And when it was all said and done, they expressed they had fun. Fun?? Yeah, it really was. We've already decided we'll do it again in 2 years unless we make definitive plans to travel by Halloween. (The kids are with their dad every other year and we, of course, cannot obligate them to do anything during their "dad holidays")

We demonstrated our thankfulness for furry beings by taking care of several cats for a family who was traveling for the holiday. Except for the fact that the kids were very hungry by that time, they would have liked to have stayed longer to pet and play with the cats. Girlchild is still hoping that one day she'll have a cat of her own.

We demonstrated our thankfulness for friends by stopping in to visit with some of my football watching friends; catching up and having a bit of dinner. Part of the dinner proceeds actually went to support the Parental Stress Center so we felt like we were contributing something there as well by spending our money on that dinner rather than one we cooked at home. And boy oh boy was there plenty of food. We had enough left overs for another whole meal at home the next day!

We came home and started a marathon monopoly game - it's still sitting on the coffee table waiting to be finished: just when you think someone is about to be bankrupt and out of the game, along comes "Free Parking". Ahhhh, gotta love free parking! I imagine if we don't finish the game this coming weekend we'll call it quits and start over (or start a different game).

It was a great day and full of some very non-traditional things for our family. But we loved every moment (including the mopping - it was another work out dontcha know!) and were blessed to be together as a family. We've decided that we don't need a huge mess at home in the kitchen or a stressful trip to see extended family to show how thankful we are for our many blessings.