Hey, folks.
A friend of mine from theatre, whose husband earlier this year kind of ran off and abandoned the family (they were the picture of idealism before that, three kids, gorgeous home, involved in their community, etc.) shared with me that she's fighting feelings of bitterness and depression because not one friend has reached out to them to invite them to Thanksgiving, probably because they haven't even thought about it. In the past obviously she hosted, but consider the struggle to think about doing that in the same environment where you shared it all with your mate over the past twelve years...ugh. Anyway, that led me to thinking about it more broadly, and I shared this post on FB, so I thought I'd share it here as well.
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So tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Particularly after a horribly-contentious election season, what holiday could be more appropriate? The one where we should focus on the many reasons we as Americans have to be thankful, rather than focusing on all the things that bug us?
Which really leads me to a nagging thought. Part of the original Thanksgiving celebration was the bountiful harvest the pilgrims shared with many native Americans. Backgrounds aside, they worked and shared together for this celebratory feast. However, while so many of us enjoy so much, there are many in our society that do not. Consider donating time, money or food to a local food bank or rescue mission (I regularly donate to the Denver Rescue Mission and the Bay Area Rescue Mission, both of which provide so much to people at various stages of conditions that would reduce most of us to tears).
And one other thing tugs at my heart. There are many among us who really have "no place to go" for Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, divorce, death in the family, relocation, etc. this year finds them outside of their "normal" circle. And you may not even know of the details that may have affected them. So please take a moment now, or later today, to think about your friends that live at least in your area. Are there any who have had a change in life circumstance that might have had such an effect? If so, please consider extending them an invite to your table; make room if you have to (at least you won't have to store all those leftovers!). Or if you're one of those people, reach out to others and plan, even at a restaurant, to sit together and reflect on the things for which you have to be thankful.
Whatever you do tomorrow, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.