Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in Canada is on the second Monday in October, instead of like in the US, where it is on the fourth Thursday in November. It was also only in recent years that Thanksgiving became more popular up there, and is now pushed heavily by retailers and advertising on TV.
Growing up in Canada, Thanksgiving wasn’t a huge holiday for our family, but my mother did sometimes cook a turkey or a roast ham. Some years, coming in from playing outside with friends to the smell of that special meal, would be the thing that reminded my why exactly I had the day off from school!
So, today I am treating the holiday like any other day, not meeting up with friends or family, but relaxing at home after a nice, cool-morning hike filled with views and exercise. As I sit here writing this, I was thinking whether I should write what I am thankful for, but nothing specific came to mind. As you probably know, if you are a regular reader of my posts, I am always only thankful for one thing.
I am thankful for the times when thankfulness comes unannounced and unforced, when it comes from the silence of our souls to dance with us for a few precious seconds — a splinter of time anointed with the essence of our true selves — before disappearing back down to whence it came. I am thankful that thankfulness does not stay around forever, but is just there, barely a scratch away from the surface, so that each time it comes it is a blessing anew.