Real Thanksgiving

Courtsey of: MorgueFile Free photos

Thanksgiving Day ends for us. We've had a wonderful time surrounded by lots of family. I forgot how it felt to hear half dozen people talking, children squealing, the house filled with good smells and twinkling lights. I haven't had a holiday like that in a long time. I grew up with that but those days are long gone and there is little to no joy in them for me.

So to say I'm thankful for opportunities like this Thanksgiving would be an understatement. Sitting in a restaurant of other strangers is not a celebration. It's a meal. Being surrounded with the noise of people you love is a celebration. My children have so little of that because the military took us to distant places and dropped us where we had no family. These days death, divorce, and distance has left me with even less.

Christmas is around the corner and I know how very empty a holiday can be for widows who are far from their extended family and for whom a trip home is impossible and a visit from any family is unlikely for a number of reason. If you know someone who will have an isolated holiday meal, you might consider the gift of sharing your family celebrations with them. Invite them now, introduce them to others, and involve them  in some way in the coming weeks with your celebrations. Have them bring their family recipe to share with your family. For widows or single parents with little to no family contact, isolation around the holidays is very painful.  They may have known the warmth and chaos of a house filled with kitchen chatter, half dozen arm chair quarterbacks in front of the t.v., and running children. The absence from their lives makes holidays miserable.

Be thankful if your house was full. Let it overflow to someone who's isn't.