Let’s be real here… We’re all grumpy to a certain extent during the holidays, and Thanksgiving is no exception. We grumble about how stores decorate for fall too early, how everyone’s already playing Christmas music, how much we have to clean the house, how much food we have to prepare, how long that food is going to take to prepare, how we have to pretend to like that one family member yet again… The list goes on. Really, though, is this what Thanksgiving has all boiled down to? Have we forgotten that this holiday is supposed to remind us that, even when our lives are in complete turmoil, we can sit down and spend time with our beautiful families and enjoy the blood, sweat, tears, and love put into each and every dish? I can openly admit that I am a grumpy person during Thanksgiving, which is why I am making this list to remind myself and my fellow grumpy people of the beautiful things that we sometimes forget to notice.
1. Parents
Whether you’re 19 or 90, you should be thanking your parents around this time of year. If you’re not yet a parent, you can see just how much work and stress goes into preparing for the holidays. If you are a parent, you know pretty dang well how much work you are putting into this holiday, so just imagining how much work your parents put into making your holiday a good one… that should be enough to make you shudder, especially considering the fact that they didn’t have the internet (gasp!).
2. The Internet
I know that my mom has spent quite a bit of time scouring the internet for new appetizer and dessert recipes to woo our family with this Thanksgiving, and she isn’t the only one. Research shows that cooking websites procure 41% of America’s population as “unique visitors” during November, meaning that 41% of the population in the US only visit these websites during November (presumably for Thanksgiving). Without the internet, we’d probably be eating the same things every single year for this holiday, and if you aren’t a fan of your family’s cooking, you’re outta luck, bud.
3. Kids
They don’t have to necessarily be your kids but give some thanks for the little ones in the family. Children offer some solid insight to the world that they are learning about and trying to understand, so listening to what they have to say can be genuinely rewarding. But remember, they won’t be little for long, so treasure their pure young minds for as long as you can, and be thankful that you got to experience their innocence and joy, even if it’s only a few times a year.
4. Your crazy Aunt/Uncle
Each family has one, and each one is different, so be thankful for them even when their crazy is just a little too much because they’ll be great stories one day.
5. Grandparents
Whether you see them all the time or only a few times a year, I guarantee they have so much love for you that they don’t know what to do with it all. They want nothing more than to see you thrive in life. Remember, when you get bombarded with questions from the grandparents during the holidays, it’s not just small talk; they are genuinely interested in your life. They want to be in the loop, they want to be the person you can talk to when you made a bad decision and can’t talk to mom about it, and they want to give you all the advice, the lessons, and the wisdom they have learned over the years to make you into the best human you can possibly be. Be thankful that you have someone like this in your life, and make sure they know how thankful you are for them.
6. Yourself
Thank yourself for making it this far. Take some time to recall moments in your life that you thought you’d never get through, then look around on Thanksgiving Day and take it all in. Whether you have a grand feast with hundreds of people around you, or just a small microwave turkey dinner and your favorite TV show, be thankful for the strength that you to this very point.
Be thankful for your body, your health, your trials and tribulations, your happiness, your sadness, your family, your friends, your work, your home, your mode of transportation, your food, your water, your local Starbucks barista, your local grocery bagger, the street cleaner, the garbage man, the janitor, your boss, your friends boss, your pet, your coffee, your tea, your food, your neighbor, your phone, your mentor, your old professors, the sun, the moon, the stars, the universe, gravity, bananas, forks, sunscreen, paper, books, batteries, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, fish, warm days, cold days, rain, kindness, clothing, new friends, the beach, the mountains, nature, and… even the president (or not, I’ll leave that one up to you).
