Precious Memories

A year ago today, we were boarding a plane in Atlanta, on our way to the Holy Land.  Precious memories indeed!

But over the last few days, I've been traveling down memory lane in a different direction.....remembering Thanksgiving Days gone by.

A few of my favorite memories...

• when Brian was in kindergarten, his class made pilgrim hats and collars for their Thanksgiving feast.  When he got home, he found construction paper, glue and scissors, and made a set for his little brother so that Brandon would have the same thing he had.
• when Brandon was in kindergarten, his class made similar hats and collars, and as they sat around the table for their feast, they recited this prayer together:  "For food and all the gifts of love, we give Thee thanks and praise.  Look down, O Father, from above, and bless us all our days."  That prayer has stuck in my memory ever since.
• remembering Thanksgiving dinners from my childhood.......Mother would set the table with the "good" china that only got used on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We would crowd around the dining room table (also rarely used!).......Grandmother Neil, Uncle JB, Daddy's cousins Anne and Richard (brother and sister, neither of whom ever married),and the four of us.  I giggle every time I remember the year Grandmother bit down on the stuffed celery and broke her false teeth!!
• day-after-Thanksgiving Christmas shopping in Spartanburg with Mother.  When we got home from that all-day adventure, we wrapped gifts together.
• the smell of a fire burning in the fireplace.  The fireplace (which was rarely used) was in the living room (also rarely used), and we typically only had a fire on Thanksgiving and Christmas.......no matter how hot it was......and sometimes in SC, Thanksgiving Day is not exactly build-a-fire kind of weather!  But we did it anyway.
• turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce.......macaroni and cheese......sweet potato casserole.....pecan pie......

So many fond memories of Thanksgiving Days gone by.  We were a small group this year.  Just Al & me, Brandon, Stephanie and AJ.  But we had a wonderful day together.  We skyped with Brian, Emily & Christopher.  I missed family members who have gone on to be with Jesus.  But I was so thankful for all the Thanksgivings we had together.

As I have been reminiscing on Thanksgiving Days past, and anticipating Thanksgiving Days yet to come, I'm reminded that Thanksgiving is not about a day.  It's not about celebrating "Thanksgiving Day" as much as about  DAILY giving thanks!

And, no matter what the circumstances of our lives, don't we all have so much to be thankful for??!!  So, as we leave this Thanksgiving Day behind and move on to celebrating Christmas, what better way to celebrate than by keeping that attitude of gratitude going.....into December, through Christmas, and on into the new year!

Count your blessings, name then one by one;

Count your blessings, see what God has done;

Count your blessings, name then one by one;

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.