Giving Thanks

Tonight I went to a Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin Brian's friends' house, Jay and Erika. The dinner was fantastic and the company was great. All in all it was a wonderful Thanksgiving. (And a much more sophisticated dinner than the Thanksgiving Kegger we had on Saturday!)

After dinner Erika came up to me and the other guests with a little pad of paper and some pens and told us all to take a moment to write down a list of things that we were thankful for. It wasn't meant to be shared with anyone, but it was just a way to ensure that everyone took a moment to acknowledge all of their blessings and really feel thankful for all that we have.

She is Columbian and said that she was introduced to Thanksgiving only 2 or 3 years ago and she thought that it was a wonderful holiday. But she also noticed that there isn't actually much time set aside to really give thanks. So she wanted us all to take a moment and do just that.

I was actually struck by the thought because I realized that there really isn't much time dedicated to the act of giving thanks during (most) Thanksgiving celebrations. Lots of times at dinner everyone will go around and say one thing that they are thankful for, but I can remember very few Thanksgivings where I actually sat down and was really, deeply thankful for all that I have.

This year, thanks to Erika, I did spend some time thinking about my many blessings. I am so thankful for all that I have in my life. I have an amazing family (including all 4 grandparents alive, healthy, and sharp witted!), an awesome group of friends here in Denver (and scattered about the rest of the country), a good job and steady paycheck, and an amazing boyfriend who I'm completely in love with. Life is really good.