Give Thanks

It's official...the holidays are upon us.  I have to admit, I used to dread the holidays.  My family seems to have very bad luck this time of year.  By bad luck, I mean we often have someone near and dear to us die unexpectedly.  Last year, it was my father.  It made the 2008 holidays tough, but I found that I enjoyed myself immensely by spending time with those that I love.  In fact, I think it was one of the better holiday seasons despite missing Dad.

Another thing that dampens my holiday spirit is the commercialization of it all.  I love Thanksgiving.  I always have.  I love a holiday that encourages you to eat good food, spend time with those you love, and give thanks for all that you have in the world.  I combines all the things I love most.  What I hate about Thanksgiving is how many people now use it as a day to plan out their Black Friday shopping.  I'm not sure when this whole 'Black Friday' thing became the norm, but it drives me crazy.  I have never been shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.  And with all of the horror stories I have read and heard from the mouths of personal friends, I may never!  When did everyone lose their minds over sales?  When did Christmas turn into a holiday of giving in excess rather than giving with meaning?

I have slowly come to realize that I love the holidays.  I love what they stand for...hope, peace, love, joy, family, giving thanks, forgiveness, and a time of renewal.  They close out the year and lead us into the following year with hope.  If others want to make Thanksgiving about gorging on food and shopping, I don't care.  If they want to make Christmas the time of year to buy in excess despite being in debt, I don't care (as long as I am not having to pay off their debt for them).  I don't care what others make of them.  What I care about is spending the holidays how I want to spend them.  I want to be amongst friends and family.  I want to share in my time and love.  I want to give one gift that shows my thoughtfulness instead of 20 gifts that have no meaning.  I want to love and feel loved in return.

To start off my 'Season of Love', I want to share a few of the things I am thankful for:

Steve - My boyfriend is amazing.  Is he perfect?  Of course not.  No one is.  But he is perfect for me.  He helps me when I need help, even without being asked.  He listens when I need him to really listen.  He lets me cry even when he doesn't understand.  And makes me laugh when I really need to let go.  To sound like a complete cliche, he completes me.

My Family - I have never been close to my extended family.  Due to the military lifestyle, we never lived in their vicinity and thus never really developed a relationship with them.  However, my immediate family has always been there.  My mom, dad, and sister are my bedrock.  They support me in all that I do and give me comfort when I need it.  Although dad is no longer here on earth, he lives on in me and through my family.  His words are forever in my mind reminding me that I can do whatever I want as long as I work for it.  My  mom is my hope.  She reminds me of where I come from and how far I can go.  She is my source of unconditional love when things are going poorly.  And my sister...she is by far my best friend.  She is the only person who truly understands where I come from because she was there too.  We bitch together, we cry together, we laugh together...we share our lives.  My family is awesome and I am blessed to have them.

My Friends - I have such a variety of friends and I love them all in their own way.  I love the ones who are movie buffs with me, who introduce me to new music, who make me laugh, who listen to me when I cry, who join me on the dance floor, and those that I have watched grow from immature teens to amazing adults and parents.  I have learned a lot from my friends.  I have learned that even though we may change as people, our friendships don't have to end.  I may not be as close to some of them as I was in the past, but I still treasure that past and the time we still get to share.  Friendships grow and change and sometimes end, but to me, they are all worth it.

I am thankful for many many more things, but this is a good start. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  May you remember all the things you have to be thankful for...