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| The Rosemary Roasted Turkey I made Thanksgiving 2009 |
It may seem a little early to be writing about Thanksgiving already, but with the “Christmas Creep” occurring, I thought I’d better get a head start. You may have noticed my “Respect the Bird” badge on the right side of my blog. This is a campaign started by allrecipes.com, in an attempt to help people not overlook Thanksgiving. As a foodie, I fully support this effort. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, mainly because it’s all about food. In recent years, it has become more and more overlooked because of retail businesses pushing up the Christmas season to start earlier and earlier to make more money, i.e. “Christmas Creep.” While I understand that in this economy stores have to do what they have to do to stay afloat, that doesn’t mean that I like it!
I don’t like going into stores and hearing holiday music the day after Halloween. Or seeing Christmas commercials on TV even before Halloween. Yes, this year the honor of the first Christmas commercial to be seen by me goes to Glade candles on October 22. I remember this date because I commented on it on Facebook. I don’t like flipping through the channels and seeing that Hallmark channel is playing holiday movies back to back already. Needless to say, I am not thankful for these things.
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| Caramel Apple Pie |
Now, on to what I am thankful for. This year I am thankful that I don’t have to host Thanksgiving dinner. That task goes to my lovely sister-in-law this year. I know she will make a wonderful dinner with all of the usual family favorites. My assignment is to make the pies! I’m making pumpkin pie and the Caramel Apple Pie that I perfected last year.
I am also thankful for a clean bill of health. For both me and my husband. This was a big year for me, marking 5 years cancer-free. Ten years ago, I never thought I’d see the day! My hubby has MS and this was a good year for him, with no new flare-ups. My mom was diagnosed with bladder cancer a couple of years ago and she keeps receiving clean bills of health too. Yes, I would say that our health is what I am most thankful for this year, and just about every year.
I’m thankful that we are all gainfully employed. My brother-in-law was unemployed for a majority of the year and he finally landed a great job last month. My sister sighed a huge sigh of relief, and I’m sure that is what they are most thankful for this year.
A friend of mine just shared this quote on Facebook:
“Consistent happiness is found through living in a state of constant gratitude.”
~Jonathan Lockwood
It’s true. Whenever I’m feeling grateful, it’s hard to get upset about anything. Things could be worse. I feel quite lucky actually. Thanksgiving is all about feeling gratitude for all that we have. When you have your health, a job and are surrounded by family (and great food), it doesn’t get any better.
