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"I am grateful for the sore muscles that I woke up with because it means I had a great track workout last night." Amy has been posting gratitude messages as her Facebook status update for the last couple of weeks in an extended period of Thanksgiving. What a cool idea!
Amy's posts contrast with so much of what we share. Things that are going wrong. Things we are mad about. People who irritate us. The aches and pains (without the thanks). Bad news is our license to speak. If we share happiness, we are sucking off the airspace from someone who needs it to complain.
Thanksgiving. I am often challenged to be grateful at this time of year. Thanksgiving is the opening act for a season of mixed emotions. I am tempted to claim the airspace and to use it as a chance to groan. Maybe Amy has a better idea: admit to the pain of sore muscles, but also give thanks for the underlying effort and growth that it represents.
Thanksgiving triggers mixed emotions this year because we are staying home. We usually fly to Wisconsin for the family gathering, but this year we decided to visit in December, between the holidays. That leaves Lyle and me to design an observance that fits us. Just us.
We don't really want to pig out. We both have restrictions and preferences that collide with an all-you-can-eat buffet. Still, there is probably room for a special meal if we compare notes and put thoughtful effort into the preparation.
It would be fun to get outside. Weather is iffy but, unless we get freezing rain, not prohibitive. We could hike near town or drive up the mountain for a Christmas tree.
Football is the centerpiece of Thanksgiving with Green Bay Packer fans. The traditional meal is served at halftime. We could turn on the TV (as weird as that would be for us) and football would offer a warm, fuzzy and familiar backdrop.
Or we could watch a movie. Or two.
I struggle with the challenge of any big-deal holiday. It must be different from the other days. It must be wonderful. We must achieve some sort of cosmic feel-good ecstasy of harmony and contentment. It never lives up to the hype. Then, the morning after Thanksgiving? Black Friday!
I am grateful because my mental and emotional muscles are sore. That means I am making the effort to embrace the mixed emotions and exercise the options. It means I am stepping across the line of my comfort zone. It means I am rising to the Thanksgiving challenge instead of curling up in a ball and sleeping 'til it's over.
I am also grateful because our experiment will come in handy again at Christmas, another big-deal holiday to figure out this year on our own.
What is your best experience with transforming holidays when traditions change? Have you been surprised to find that other options can be fun and new traditions can be born?
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