“Every day should be Thanksgiving,” I exclaimed while watching the falling snow outside of the sun porch windows in my friends’ home in upstate New York, near the Catskill Mountains. I gazed at the blanket of bright snow against the near white out conditions off in the distance obscuring the panoramic views of rolling hills from the day before. Now, it was a fresh blank white canvas of nature as the backdrop to the evergreens and other trees coated with snow. This view, coupled with the literal blank painter’s canvas my friend has in her sunroom reminded me that each day is an opportunity for a fresh start with a blank canvas. And if we so chose, each day could be painted as a day of thanksgiving.
The vista of the falling snow, laughter of good friends in the house, a steaming cup of hot coffee, the aromas of Thanksgiving Dinner cooking, and the eponymous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV contributed to a near perfect, memorable Thanksgiving. My husband and I traveled up to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our close friends and visit their home for the first time. It was indeed a memorable holiday. The only thing missing were family and friends who couldn’t make it due to the weather, celebrating elsewhere, or other conflicts. To which I replied, “Tomorrow can be Thanksgiving too! Just extend Thanksgiving and have it two days in a row.”
There aren’t any rules against having multiple Thanksgiving gatherings if you like. The purpose of the holiday is to gather with friends and family (biological and/or chosen family) to celebrate and count our many blessings and give thanks. To me, when you think about it, those are things we should be doing every day throughout the year, gathering with friends and family, acknowledging our blessings, giving thanks, and showing our gratitude. Just because a little bit of weather or travel challenges may have prevented you from gathering with friends and family and showing your gratitude and thanks on the actual Thanksgiving holiday doesn’t mean you can’t recreate it again on another day or multiple days throughout the year.
Or if you can’t make it in person, do a virtual or video Thanksgiving throughout the year. I’m reminded of when I first joined the Air Force in the early 1990’s. I often chose to stay on base in Europe during the holidays instead of traveling home to Georgia, allowing other Airman to spend time with their families. I usually went home to visit my family just before the holiday season or just after new year. But my family would always video record the annual family Christmas dinner or other holiday gatherings and send me a VHS copy. As I rewatch those old videos, there’s always the point where the house phone rings and it was me calling from Europe. I watch the videos now years later with scenes as my family pass the phone to talk with me across the miles and share the holiday. Even though I wasn’t there in person, I was still there with them to celebrate as the technology at the time allowed. Now, with digital videos and video calls, we don’t have to wait for the video. Dial up the family and record a thanksgiving style gathering anytime and multiple times throughout the year. Gather with friends and family more often, create new memories on the blank canvas of each new day, and embrace the fresh start opportunity to give thanks for our blessings and show our gratitude.
I thought all day about the blank painting canvas and chair in my friends’ home looking out onto the fresh fallen snow. It reminded me that each day is a fresh new start and a new blank canvas for us to paint the picture that we want most and provides us with all we need for our journey, including new memories with family and friends and showing our gratitude. No matter what challenges you faced during this Thanksgiving holiday or in your current personal or professional journey, each new day is like that fresh fallen snow and blank canvas in my friend’s house, waiting for you to paint the picture that you want to see and experience for the day.
As always, I encourage you to reflect on your stories where you embraced a fresh start with a blank canvas and what images you painted for yourself. Think about the positive emotions you felt when embracing that fresh start with a blank canvas in a spirit of curiosity and gratitude. And remember, during the holiday season when things become demanding personally and at work, each day is a fresh start with a blank canvas. What will you paint for yourself today?
And I am always interested in hearing and learning from all of you and your related stories because, Your Story Matters. Happy Holidays!
