REMEMBER
Happy Thanksgiving
Today is Thanksgiving here in the U.S., and I wanted to spread some goodwill and wish everyone here on Substack a Happy Thanksgiving. It is a day for gathering with family and friends, and sometimes even strangers, as we come together to appreciate each other with gratitude and love.
This Thanksgiving is different for me. For the first time this year, I will be without family close by. I have decided to attend a gathering with strangers and hope to make some new connections. I am both excited and nervous, but anything new can cause us to feel uncomfortable.
For those of you who will be alone or without your family this Thanksgiving, I hope you will reach out to someone and invite them to join you. Or venture out on your own. Many restaurants serve on Thanksgiving, and you may find others in the same situation as yourself. Give it a try, you may be surprised at who you meet!
For every gathering among the familiar setting of family and friends, and some of you partially dreading the experience ;) - just breathe and smile. Yes, cousin Tim is a jerk sometimes. Sam drones on, telling the same stories over and over, making you want to stuff a napkin in his mouth. Sally always brings the wretched rhubarb pie instead of pumpkin, and the crust is so stiff you need a steak knife to cut through. Grandma complains about her days of preparation, her every ache and pain, how everyone’s ungrateful, and the neighbors suck.
On and on it goes, and you can’t wait to finally go home.
Regardless, this day is special. Everyone together at one time might not happen next year. Someone may be lost over the months, and that empty seat will bring back memories you once found annoying with fondness.
I wrote a little poem that is about missing my dad, as I always do. I miss many people this holiday.
REMEMBER
I dreamed beneath a Winter’s moon
Holding memories for one I love, so dear,
Wisdom and guiding words drift to me,
Snow brushing glass, whispering my ear.
Sun and moon roll around my days
Springing summer into autumn’s haze,
Where the trees lose their patience,
Me at a table without your hands or gaze.
A gentle man, a gentleman, my father,
I ask you, forgetting loss of a daughter,
Wonder if you watch me from on high,
Taking a chair at the table in heaven’s sky.
Gathered with our family gone before,
My mother with you, friends, and more,
Talking, laughing, and remembering
Joyful times spent before the ever more.
You clap a hand against grandpa’s back,
He winks a twinkling eye, smiles, and laughs
about the story of when I used to talk to trees,
And made golden angels in their fallen leaves.
In the kitchen, while I clean my plate,
A snowflake kisses the windowpane,
A sudden woodpecker drops to a branch,
Your sign for me, I remember. Thank you, Dad.
Enjoy your day everybody!
Anne
Happy Thanksgiving Anne.