I grew up with the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving.  We had at least twenty people, two turkeys, three kinds of potatoes and more pies and desserts than you could count.  Now it’s just my husband and me, our two dogs and a visit to my Aunt in the nursing home.

But that’s OK.  Because this day is not about that picture perfect family gathering.  This day is about gratitude.  And you can be a part of any religion or no religion.  You can have a big family or no family.  You can be with a crowd of people or by yourself.  You can live in a big house or on the street.

What makes life wonderful and beautiful is not what you have but what you are grateful for.  There are people who have more than I can imagine who are miserable and people who have what seems like nothing to me who are happier than I am.

I control how happy I am and when I think about what I have in my life, I am SO THANKFUL.  Truthfully, I do  miss the big family gathering.  But that is not the way my life is right now.  It may never be that way again.  So I will love and appreciate the wonderful things I do have.

I will make a small turkey and all the sides my husband loves.  We will cook together and watch football.  There will be a fire in the fireplace and warm and sleepy dogs on the floor.  We will toast each other with a good wine and snuggle on the sofa.  I will not think about all the people and things I am missing but all the incredible people and things I have in my life right now.

Next year, Thanksgiving may look entirely different.  Circumstances change.  The facts of the day won’t matter.  How I see them will.

Love and peace to all.

Happy Thanksgiving, however you celebrate.