A Day of Thanksgiving

        Thanksgiving, a day where family and friends gather and eatmore than they need, and talk more than most want. It is a time to be thankful for what we have, expresses our thanks, and share it with others. A Typical family wakes up to the smell of mouthwatering food that the mother, maybe even the father, has been preparing. They get out of their warm bed and cozy up on the couch with their blankets, TV, and their family while they wait for the great feast to be prepared. If they are hosting a large group at their home they may get all dressed up and wait to enjoy a hearty meal, warm conversation and laughter, and smiles in their comfortable decorated home. After the family members and friends go their own way with Tupperware’s full of left overs, the dogs are fed what wasn’t wanted and what is put in the fridge will eventually make it into the garbage can.

       Some leave the warmth of their home dedicated to help others have a great Thanksgiving Day. These many needed and appreciated volunteers spend time on their day off, their holiday to help others. Some may help at a shelter, a church. some may take food to a family they know is in need, or take a few plates of the left overs from their family meal to the few homeless individuals they passed on their way to the store to get the cranberry sauce they had forgotten the day before.

       For thousands their version of Thanksgiving was much different, one they and countless others share. If they did not find a shelter or warm place to lay their heads the night before they wake up from an unfulfilling night of sleep to freezing temperatures around them. The wind whips and the cold bites at their face until they reluctantly get up and try in vain to warm themselves. If they decide to go to a shelter serving a thanksgiving meal they stand in lines that can take hours while they wait in the cold. Friendly faces of volunteers dole out their food and move them along. They may sit next to other they know and have a conversation about the holidays or their grandmothers pumpkin pie they miss. After their meal they return back outside to the cold to find somewhere else to hide from the wind. If they didn’t chose to have a warm meal provided by shelters and other community organizations they stand on the street asking for change from the families on their way to their Thanksgiving destination. Once they have received the amount they are happy with they leave the street to spend the money they got from others on whatever they decide. Some spend it on a warm sandwich, a pair of gloves, or a glass of milk. While others may spend it on things that keep them on the street, things that they are addicted to, things that they try to avoid their situation with. Whatever the case it is a completely different experience than many of us do on that wonderful Thanksgivings day.

       Whichever way you spent your Thanksgiving I hope you remembered to be thankful. I hope you didn’t take for granted the ones who prepared the meal you ate, whether it be at home or at a shelter. I hope you showed love and kindness to those around you, whether it be volunteers or distant family relatives. I hope you remembered that there are always people out there struggling, whether you are yourself or not. I hope you remembered that it could always be worse, and that if you want you can work to make it better for you. I hope you remembered it was Thanksgiving, a day to be thankful.