Thanksgiving. A time for family,
football, and culinary enjoyment.
But this year, we learned
gratefulness through our disappointment.
Plan A of going to Kansas, canceled.
Can’t drive that far with kid 2 not well.
Then the water filter fails so no baths
in the well water smell of eggshell.
Plan B of visiting friends, canceled.
Kid 1 has temps of 100 plus
So creating a thanksgiving meal at home
Is now a must
But the store has no classics,
No ham or turkey,
And thanksgiving chicken
Now doesn’t sound so quirky.
It’d be a lie to say
this doesn’t have us down
Yet in our disappointment
We found something profound
We often miss and take for granted
the people present and the time spent,
and we can learn gratitude
Because those things are absent.
It’s like I need to hear my own preaching
from last Sunday
That giving thanks in all circumstances
can dramatically change your day
So today, we give thanks
For family and food on the plate
Because after all
we still have so much to celebrate.
Next year when we are with family
We’ll be more grateful, I guess
Because of this years disappointment
We know how much we’ve been blessed.
But for today, we will be thankful
For those who are near
Practicing gratitude,
And because of that,
Watching Thanksgiving reappear.



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