Happy Thanksgiving

I posted this as a "status" on my Facebook page:

"Thanksgiving is no longer really about the myth of the Pilgrims, it's a day to remember our blessings or what we are most thankful for. I am thankful for the love of my family and friends. I am truly one of the luckiest people in that regard and I appreciate it every day, NOT just the fourth Thursday in November."

 

It has become popular of late to disparage the holiday as celebrating Imperialism and to bemoan the fact that the Pilgrims were not nice to the Native people.   Well, you cannot change the past and as we move forward, the meaning of the holiday has certainly changed.  For me, it is the calm before the storm, a time to celebrate friends, food and family.  For merchants it is the day before ( or in some really icky cases the day OF) the start of the Christmas Frenzy season.  Christmas too has lost it's meaning.  It seems to be more about shopping and getting presents than the original intent of the season.  No matter what your religion, the Winter Holidays are about taking time to reflect on the year and to honor what good has come, also to mourn the losses.  But today is Thanksgiving.  I am thankful to be able to invite friends into our home to share a meal, to talk to people all over the country and all over the world to let them know I am thinking about them.  Happy Thanksgiving , everybody!