Love What Matters

“As we sat together with a glass of wine at the Thanksgiving table, I realized this was more than a meal—it was the beginning of a lifetime of traditions. Each bite, each laugh, and every shared moment felt like a thread weaving us closer, creating something uniquely ours.” (Link Below)

"I was grocery shopping with my husband the other day, and we came upon this beautiful colorful display of tiny onions. It made me think of my grandfather, known fondly as 'Papa,' who began the tradition of 'turkey of the year' in our family. Thanksgiving was a really big deal in our family. It was always held at Nana and Papa’s home. We looked forward to it every November—I just adored my Nana’s stuffing that spilled out of the great big turkey and the amazing mountains of mashed potatoes that would appear from the kitchen. When I was about six years old, Papa had made a big casserole of creamed onions with bacon, cheese, and breadcrumbs on the top. He very proudly brought the dish in to dinner when it was time to eat that Thanksgiving afternoon. Unfortunately he tripped and spilled the entire contents of the dish all over the brand new chocolate brown wall-to-wall carpeting that had been recently installed in the dining room (remember, this was 1978!). As he sat there covered in cream and onion mess and Nana flew to his side to make sure he didn't get burned, he just laughed and said, 'I feel like such a turkey.' For the rest of the evening after we cleaned him up, we all shared stories of how we had made mistakes or had something embarrassing happened to us. My cousin admitted he had mistakenly sprayed air freshener instead of hairspray on his hair. I told Papa how I had once done three cartwheels in a row at recess and ended up splitting my pants. My father roared with laughter, telling us about the time he had woken up extra early on his day off and waltzed into his retail job, only to realize he had somehow lost a day. The foibles went on and on, late into the evening. In the end, Papa was encouraged by the loving family he helped create, and we all came to the conclusion that our silly shenanigans of the past were fun to share and have a laugh at ourselves. We carried on the tradition and he usually made us a small trophy to commemorate the funniest story, which we vote on in all sincerity. Last year's trophy, made by my daughters, was an incredibly tacky golden chicken statue, encrusted with jewels. It was won by my eldest child's best friend, who needed a place to be for the holiday. We came away from that dinner with his laughter and sweet comment of 'I've never won an award before, and now I can rest easy knowing I've blown away my grandfather's expectations of me!' The love, laughter, and sarcasm of the original turkey of the year competition is still going strong. It is a tradition that we have kept up for 46 years, and I can't wait for this year's Thanksgiving dinner, because I am most certainly going to be the winner!"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! A few reminders for a wonderful day.

“She told me, ‘Find someone who loves you and the kids as much as I do.’ But as I stand here juggling grief, parenting, and the fear of eternal loneliness, I can’t help but wonder—how do you honor a wish like that while carrying the weight of her absence every single day?” (Link Below)

"To the girl who floats from circle to circle, wondering if she's broken—you’re not. You’re making your own rain, dancing to your own beat, and the right people will join your dance in their own time." (Link Below)

"We were cleaning out her desk and found two sealed envelopes. Inside were Valentine’s notes she had written for us before she passed, her words reminding us how much she loved us and how grateful she was for our love—it felt like she was reaching out from beyond to say goodbye." (Link Below)

"I was sitting in the chemo room when the nurse approached with a pitying look. ‘You won’t be receiving your treatment,’ she said, and for the first time, I cried hot, silent, angry tears—not at the cancer, but at the cruel twist of being too weak to fight it." (Link Below)

"I woke up struggling to gasp for air, peeing blood, and surrounded by nurses yelling, ‘Code Blue!’ Little did I know, this fight for survival was only the beginning of a journey that would teach me how to rise above unimaginable odds." (Link Below)

"Way too often, firefighters come upon a wreck with children in the car, their parents unconscious, and no way to get the vital information they need. It takes two minutes to write out your child’s name, medical conditions, and emergency contacts—those two minutes could save their life." (Link Below)

"I walked out of the psychiatrist’s office, exhausted and defeated, and something clicked—I didn’t want to live my life this way anymore. What if the key to reclaiming my happiness wasn’t in medication, but in healing my body from the inside out?" (Link Below)