Well, friends, tomorrow’s the big day. Thanksgiving. It’s my very favorite holiday and I think it’s because Thanksgiving has somehow managed to maintain its integrity in an age when most special days are commercialized to the point of caricature. Uniquely unadulterated, Thanksgiving has never kowtowed to Hallmark executives or any other entity for that matter.
Nope. With Thanksgiving, what you see is what you get. Simply a day dedicated to giving thanks for our many blessings. Big things. Little things. Important things. Silly things. In honor of tomorrow’s holiday, we thought we’d get the ball rolling by telling you, our readers, some of the things for which we’re thankful.Margaret Wheeler Johnson, editor extraordinaire: After a scare a friend’s family is going through, I’m thankful for health. I feel so lucky that even though I’m 28 and spend Thanksgiving a thousand miles from my parents, I’m as close to them as ever — see you at Christmas, Mom and Dad! I’m grateful to know the post-turkey coma is all in my mind—thanks, Heather. And I’m so thankful for the community I’ve found at Babble and Strollerderby.
Joe, our social media guru: I’m thankful that both my grandmas are still celebrating Thanksgiving with their families in the year 2010. I’m thankful that three Thanksgiving football games are being televised in New York this year. I’m thankful that my dad will have a deluxe wine list, and that I’ll take home enough leftovers to eat for several weeks.
Danielle: I am grateful for the day-in and day-out safety of my husband while he volunteers his time to keep the public safe. I am thankful for my children for teaching me to live life to the fullset. I am thankful for our surprise baby #3 who has already changed our lives in so many ways. I am thankful for my parents and family for being such a large and amazing support system.
Sierra Black: I’m grateful for the sunshine, the clean water, the fertile earth and the wind. I’m grateful for all the many hands that work to bring every meal to my table, from the migrant farm workers picking vegetables in California to my kids setting the table. I’m thankful for my healthy, happy, whole family , and for the time we have all together at Thanksgiving.
Paula Bernstein: I’m thankful for my health, my beautiful family and for the fact that I get to do what I love for a living! I’m also thankful that I live in a country where I am free to express my (wildly unpopular) opinions. Most of all, I’m thankful that I didn’t burn down the house while baking my Thanksgiving Pies.
Sandy Maple: I am thankful for the love, support and continued good health of my extended family. I am thankful for my husband, who puts up with my extended family without complaining (much). I am thankful for my sweet little dog and my grumpy little cat. Most of all, I am thankful for my children, who fill me up with love and light. I am truly blessed.
And me?: I’m thankful for my beautiful wife, with whom I’m madly in love. I’m thankful for my children who fill my world with light. (I promise that I wasn’t copying Sandy when I jotted down my thankful-list!) I’m thankful that Caroline and I will be blessed with yet another child next summer. I’m thankful that I get to contribute regularly to a website as wonderful as Babble/Strollerderby alongside some very bright, talented and kind people. AND, I’m very thankful for each and every one of the Strollerderby’s readers — even those (perhaps, particularly those) who disagree with me. (Special shout-out to Linda, the original one!)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!