'Twas the Day Before Thanksgiving . . .

...and all through the house.

No, no, that doesn't have quite the right ring to it. Maybe try that again for Christmas.

In the meantime, at our home, we are pulling out recipes new and old, in preparation for the "big" feast for our small family tomorrow. We couldn't possibly cook all that food in just one day alone. We certainly will be eating it for far more than one day.

While we've been preparing for all this holiday hoopla, I can't help but think of the reason for the day: thankfulness. Our family has a lot to be thankful for.

I also can't help but think of a number of our family friends and acquaintances, some of whom have passed through a very rough year, indeed. And yet, I know that even these folks can acknowledge that they have a lot to be thankful for. It's not just a trite saying we have, coming up on the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Presidential Proclamation which started the annual observance on the fourth Thursday in 1863. Most people really can think of something substantial that they are truly thankful for.

I hope you will join me in those positive thoughts about thankfulness, as you work in your kitchen in preparation for the wonderful day ahead. There is something that lifts the spirits when we focus on the positive—even in the face of difficulties.

Perhaps that is a lesson I've discovered from learning about how our ancestors overcame their hardships. That they survived against all odds gifts us with the resilience to put that encouragement to the test—even if we are not descended from the first visitors to this North American continent. Every family who has arrived on these shores has come because of hardships left behind and the hope for a better life. That alone is cause enough to celebrate.

  
Above: "Home to Thanksgiving," Currier and Ives lithograph circa 1867 from artwork by George Henry Durrie; courtesy United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division via Wikipedia; in the public domain.