What is Your Spin on Thanksgiving?

I just finished watching another 'sappy' Christmas movie on Lifetime. Since it's the Lifetime Channel, they now call it 'It's a Wonderful Life Channel' until Christmas. Wouldn't it be great if all of our stories played out on the Lifetime Channel and ended up being happy?

I was talking with a friend on the day before Thanksgiving. She was disappointed that her kids weren't coming home for Thanksgiving. And then a few minutes later my brother called and said that he was not looking forward to the holidays because our mom passed away and it wasn't the same any longer. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I told them both that they had to make their own fun.

You have to look at all of the good things that have happened to you this year and be thankful that you don't have any major troubles.

My friend has a really nice boyfriend and she is healthy and is in good shape. My brother has a sweet dog named Curly and a cute little home. They both have jobs and insurance. They both own their own places to live. This morning on the TV I heard that if you have $15 in your pocket, you are in the top 8% of wealth in the world.

You want to acknowledge their pain, because it is sad. It's just that we need to turn our focus to the things that have happened this year that were amazing and wonderful. Things sure could be a lot worse. My friend at work is waiting to see if her husband will survive another brain surgery to remove another tumor in the middle of December.

And I am sure during the current war that there are a lot of sons and daughters, mom's and dad's that are missing at the table for Thanksgiving and never coming back. That would be stinging pain.

I have a different 'type' of family. So these are the strange things that I am thankful for this year. I am thankful that my oldest daughter got a ticket so that I know that she is okay for now and that I know where she is living for a little while. I am also thankful that I ran to East Towne Mall on a whim that I needed a hair appointment on a Tuesday night at 7:00 o'clock to look nice the next day for a meeting with Mary Johnson my financial coach. Because, I ran into my 11 year old granddaughter, Lily, and her adoptive mom. That was a precious few minutes in time that doesn't happen every year.

I am thankful to be able to see my youngest daughter reading 31 history books and studying for her masters degree written and oral tests on December 1. I am thankful that I was there to witness my middle daughter apologize to a lady that works at our Sentry store right down the street. You see, when my daughter was a teenager, she was mad at the Sentry lady's son and so she went to their house and tipped over some planters and broke them. I think she TP'd the house too! We just happened to be in her line and she asked my son what my daughter's name was because she thought she recognized her. My daughter blushed and said that she was glad that she had this opportunity to apologize. That was a healing moment for all of us and they got a good laugh out of it.

Lastly, I am thankful that my son Dylan is a helper in his Awana group and that he has to listen to kids, younger then him, recite bible verses so that he can hide them in his heart for future use.

I have a lot this year to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. What about you?

 

 

Comments

[Dona Meyer]

Great comments Penny. So many people only focus on the negatives in their lives and there are way more positives. We just become used to them and don't realize how wonderful we have it.

I know I have so much to be thankful for, and you are one of those things. You have helped me realize a lot with your Project Money Penny. You are an inspiration and a mentor, and I am very greatful. Thank you.