This Thursday, I don’t expect to cook the perfect turkey or set the perfect table. I don’t expect my children not to bicker or my husband to telepathically know when I need help. My folded napkins won’t look like turkeys and the smoke detector will go off at least twice. My day will be as full of “glitches” as my sink will be full of dirty dishes. And that’s fine. Perfect, actually. Because it will also be full of love, laughter and gratitude.
My brother-in-law will get stuck in traffic and be an hour-and-a-half late for dinner. I will be thankful when he arrives safely. The kids’ clothes will be dirty and their hair will be in tangles. I will be thankful that they spent an afternoon jumping happily in leaf piles with their cousins.
I will overcook my turkey and be thankful for the extra jars of gravy that I keep in the cabinet, just in case. My dog will get into three of the six desserts that I will spend two days baking, and I will be thankful that he didn’t get the turkey. My niece will announce she has become a vegetarian…again. I will be thankful for an abundance of side dishes and the fact that she didn’t say “vegan.”
Grandpa will try to bait my teenage daughters with political commentary. I will be thankful for a cabinet full of old photo albums that will help change the subject quickly. My husband will be in a football-induced trance on the couch…and I will be thankful that he is ignoring Grandpa’s political ramblings.
Some of you will be celebrating your first Thanksgiving in a new home. Or your last Thanksgiving in your current home. You might be traveling to someone else’s home or away on vacation. You may be pulling your hair out, dealing with predictable family drama. Or pacing the floor, anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new baby. Some will spend the day savoring every remaining moment with a loved one who will be gone too soon.
Whatever your Thanksgiving looks like this year, all of us at HOUSE Real Estate hope that your blessings are abundant and your time with loved ones is cherished. May the best things in life be yours, this Thanksgiving and throughout the year.
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