Dear Thanksgiving Turkey,
Just to start things off, I’d like to apologize.
November is in full swing and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. However, a lot of people have forgotten that there's another holiday between Halloween and Christmas. Trees and decorations are on sale, giant candy bars are available in case anyone wants to give the gift of diabetes this year, and Alvin and the Chipmunks are already wanting hula hoops in every retail store.
I’ll be honest and say I’m not 100% innocent when it comes to skipping over Thanksgiving. I almost applied my Christmas Jamberry nail wraps yesterday, and I bought my daughter red and green bows with snow flakes on them. I felt disgusted, but they were just too cute to pass up. For that, I'm sorry.
For the past two weeks, my fellow Facebookers have been freaking out over this plain red cup that Starbucks is serving their coffee in. They've seemed to have let go of what’s most important. There are very few people posting their daily ‘thankful fors’ this year. People are more worried about what their families will be giving them for Christmas rather than just spending time with them.
Being a Thanksgiving turkey, I’m sure you’re pretty excited about the forgetfulness of your holiday. It means some of your friends will be spared, right? Guns and bows will be put away and replaced with an ax to cut down a tree, and a box of dressing mix will be replaced with a box of Christmas ornaments. There are tons of things that will go overlooked and you can roam around freely without disruption. I want you to know I understand your excitement, but I need you to listen closely.
As a nation, we went from collecting candy from our neighbors to wanting gifts from them. We've written out our chance to be universally thankful on the same day. Granted, we should be thankful every day of the year, but if we’re trying to skip a holiday meant for thanks, will we try to stop being thankful all together?
I will resist the premature decoration of my Christmas tree and I will not hum "Frosty the Snowman" until December is officially here. Turkey, I want you to know some of the things I'm thankful for each day of the year, and will be thankful for on Thanksgiving day when I have dinner with my family.
I am thankful to be a 22-year-old woman that lives on her own in a city she’s not used to. I am beyond happy to get to attend a university that will give me the brightest future I’ve ever dreamed of having. My daughter is happy and healthy, and will one day be just as successful. I have a family that supports me almost all of the time, and a man that I can call my person. The sun shines every day and even if I forget it sometimes, things could be much worse. I am thankful I get to have a Thanksgiving. I will eventually make it to Christmas, but I want to remind everyone to celebrate the forgotten holiday in November.
I want you, turkey, and all of my friends to stop thinking about wish lists and the financial burdens it will most definitely cause. I want them to turn off the Christmas album and cancel plans to hang lights around their houses. I hope that you’ll understand, turkey, that it’s important for you to stand proud this November, because the world is losing its humanity. It's losing the ability to cherish the people and the things they have.
Stand proud and remind everyone to say thanks and give hugs before they plan their Black Friday strategies or watch another holiday movie.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Turkey Supporter
