With Thanks

It’s 4:45 a.m.  The house is sweetly silent, and the turkey is happily cooking, all slathered in butter and spice.  Of course, I am most mindful of what is right at hand- three healthy, happy, fun kids returned from school and all under roof.  I’m so grateful for them that it makes me weepy- for their health and safety for another year, for the mostly wise choices they are making as they grow, for the opportunities that lie ahead of them.  DH is snoring and our littlest dog has taken on the challenge of outdoing him, and in this rare moment even that is cause for thanksgiving.  For my mother, my sister and her family, for my church and my friends, for meaningful work and great folks to do it with, I am filled with thanks. 

Today we will gather with our friends and our families and will with delight renew time honored traditions.  We’ll eat well and laugh a lot, but at the end of the day it will be these early morning minutes that framed this day of great thankfulness.