Simply: Thankful

I went grocery shopping this morning, and unless I’d checked my calendar before leaving the house, I would have been quite sure I had landed smack in the middle of December. Christmas music blared over the loudspeaker, the shelf stockers wore Santa hats, and the florist section was full of poinsettias. It took me a while to locate the lone display of Thanksgiving paper plates. Thanksgiving always gets short shrift, but I think the fact that it’s the underdog might be one of the reasons why it’s also one of my favorite holidays.

Christmas is five weeks away, and I already have a list taped to my fridge of the cookies I’ll be making. Markus is chomping at the bit to get the five rubbermaid bins of decorations and ornaments out of the storage room. But the season isn’t technically even here yet. Once it gets here I’ll have to balance the “am I buying too much and spoiling the boys forever?” with all of the Santa wish lists. I’ll try to balance the focus on Christ with the man in red. It’s a great time of year, and would be seen by many as the “most important” holiday of the year, but let’s face it, it’s also exhausting.

Thanksgiving reminds me more of a peaceful holiday. A couple of weeks ago my sister invited some friends and the family members to have dinner with her, but it wasn’t until last night that I finally pulled out the cookbooks and started to plan my shopping list, which took about fifteen minutes. I have exactly two Thanksgiving decorations– a set of pilgrims sitting on the table and a "Give Thanks" door decoration. I do have plans to spend a lot of time on Thursday in the kitchen, but it won’t hold a candle to the hours I spend each year rolling tiny balls of dough into millions of Christmas cookies. During the Christmas season, I’m very careful to say “Happy Holidays,” so as not to offend anyone who may not believe the way I do. I appreciate that Thanksgiving celebrates something we can all agree on– good food and being thankful.

I’m thankful for potatoes and apple pie and ice cream. I’m thankful for family to share the day with. I’m thankful for the simplicity of Thanksgiving. It may not be the most important holiday of the year, but sometimes simple is best.