Thanksgiving!

It’s a glorious morning! The sun kissed pine leaves are glistening outside my window, Popeye my puppy, is snoring on my lap, the soft fragrance of the midnight jasmine candle is following the rose tulips wandering in every direction unhindered by the purple-blue vase that struggles to hold them together. Outside, the lavender shrub, planted in a sturdy brown pot, is floating in the warm breeze adding charm to the old swing upon the terracotta colored deck and for now everything seems perfect! Well almost perfect!

This strange dis-ease of collaborating a fabulous Thanksgiving day is mildly bothering me today. As always I am trying to exceed expectations - mine, and that of everyone else in our small family. A family that reminds me of a brown paper package tied up with strings, from the classical song in the classical movie, ' Sound of Music'!

The thing that makes it classy, is that all five of us, including Popeye, have been carefully placed inside the very same brown package which is tied together with beautiful strings of color, music, poetry, food, sports, goofiness, good humor, creativity, joy and a dash of irritability due to our uniqueness. Like most humans there are times when we remain indifferent to the flawed abundance around us, times when we pursue the imaginary and give up on the obvious. We could have gone through life like packages tied together, sitting side by side through the long and sometimes tiring journey and yet never knowing or never being curious of what is inside the other.

But a different choice has been made and with this choice has come a blessing, the rare blessing, of being able to see that which is within and embracing that which is unique with love, respect and kindness.  I feel immensely grateful for the family that we have each worked very hard to create, a home where the masks have fallen off and each one if free to be their own self. 

It will be a small celebration, a simple one lacking grandeur but complete in its wholesomeness. The house will be tidied, there will be flowers and candles, soft music for sure, food catering to everyone's palette, a warm fire, wine, sweet desert accompanied by acknowledgement of as many things as possible that we are each grateful for. Then there will be a tad bit of argument about the movie to watch, a mild irritation of things not being just so, the anger at losing at a board game, the frustration of Popeye needing to be let out just as we are sitting down to eat and other small mishaps that families with moody teens and tweens experience. But surely, loving and living through all of this is what makes thanksgiving special!

So what is this mild dis-ease that I experience about Thanksgiving - it’s the expectation! The hopeless expectation of making that, which is already perfect more complete! This is it! This is all! This is what my life is about, these magnificent relationships with a handful of people whose faces light up when they see me, these many carings, this sharing and this renewed sense of togetherness. 

A very happy Thanksgiving to you all!