When I was little, Thanksgiving meant crafting hand turkeys out of construction paper during school and writing down what you were thankful for on each of the "feathers." Or, Thanksgiving meant dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians and putting on a play for your 3rd grade class and thinking that 'teepee' was a dirty word...but let's not relive the past.
As I've gotten older, Thanksgiving has meant getting a break to spend time with my family and enjoying the company and cooking at home, while also looking forward to peeking at some Black Friday ads and preparing to do some thrifty shopping on Cyber Monday.
The weird thing that happens during this time of year is that I get caught off guard when someone mentions what they're thankful for or when someone asks me what I'm thankful for.
We get so caught up in our own lives and what's happening around us and what's beneficial to ourselves, that we forget to just take a moment to sit, relax, breathe, and just detach from our surroundings to remember what we take for granted and what we can be thankful for.
Trust me, I know I'm guilty of getting too wrapped up in life to think about simple things like what I'm really thankful for. I've had to force myself many times to take a step back and think about what God has given me and just take a brief moment to thank Him for it.
I have a lot to be thankful for, but these are the things I am most thankful for and the things that would completely change my entire life if I wasn't blessed with them.
First and foremost, I am thankful for my family. Often times I forget that not everyone has both a mom and a dad raising them from birth until present. I'm not sure what my life would be like if my parents were divorced or only one of them had raised me on their own or, God forbid, anything happened to them. My world is my family. I also love have a really big, loving, (sometimes loud) family to surround myself with.
On the same note, I'm really thankful to have a sibling. Being the type of person I am, I don't think I could handle being an only child. My sister and I are super close to each other and I love always having someone to talk to about anything. My best memories are with my sister. I really don't know what I would do without her and I don't even want to think about it.
Staying with the theme of family, I am so incredibly thankful I have a stable roof over my head no matter what, that includes a bed for me to lay my head on every night and a fridge that contains food and clean water.
I'm thankful for the luxury items that I get, like a car, a phone, and well-made clothing from working jobs that pay well and aren't a hazard to my health.
Speaking of — I'm thankful I have my good health. Sure, I've had some issues that seemed unbelievably tough to get through but nothing life-threathening and my family are all standing on their own two feet so what more could I ask for.
Along the same lines as luxury items, I'm thankful that I can not only get an education, but I'm also able to pay for one. I've gone all the way from Pre-School to graduating college with a Bachelor's Degree. All the while, without thinking that in some cases, or some places, that's not a norm.
With that being said, I'm thankful that I live in America. Some might question that statement seeing as it's after the election, but I ask that you just take a look at the bigger picture and realize it really could be much, much worse. If you think that having Trump as president is the worst thing that could ever happen to you in your life, go live somewhere like Russia or North Korea — America will feel like a dream. We have it pretty good here so be thankful and stop complaining.
Last, but certainly not least, I'm thankful for God in my life. No matter what happens in my life, I know God has me. I'm so thankful that I was brought up in a family that also surrounds themselves with Him.
Hopefully this will lead others to get in the habit of practicing thankfulness, or even humbleness, more than once a year.
Be safe, enjoy the time off with your loved ones, eat great food, count your blessings, and most importantly, Happy Thanksgiving!
