I don't know if it is because there have been so many catastrophes and human suffering around the world this year, or if each passing year makes me more appreciative, but whatever reason, I feel very grateful this Thanksgiving.
One only has to speak to people from other countries who come to Canada to find the freedoms we take for granted, to realize how fortunate we are and how thankful we should be. Citizens in other countries risk their lives to fight for the very freedoms we enjoy in Canada.
Closer to home, I am thankful for a wonderful family. My own little family and my extended family spend most holidays together. As I think back over the years at the gatherings I have enjoyed with brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and in-laws I realize anew what a wonderful family I was born into and I married into. I am grateful that at those gatherings we enjoy good food and always have enough left over for everyone to take food home. I compare that to the stories I have heard of children who have to fight for scraps of food just to survive.
I have wonderful friends which I am thankful for - both friends my husband and I have as a couple, and my female friends. When I compare the lives we lead as strong, independent women with the women in countries where they have no rights at all, I realize how fortunate we are. How blessed I am to have been born in a country and at a time when the women before me fought for the rights I and my friends now enjoy. My husband and I and our friends are privileged to have leisure time to enjoy getting together. For others, finding shelter and food is a full-time occupation with nothing left over for leisure.
I am grateful that by working and saving, my husband and I have a home we enjoy in a city we love. People in other countries work hard just to survive and will never have the opportunity to purchase their own home.
Thanksgiving is really a time to reflect upon how fortunate we are and how blessed our lives are. Well, for most us - the customary turkey is likely not so grateful to see Thanksgiving Day arrive. For the rest of us, however, enjoying a day with family and friends and being truly thankful for our good fortune is a wonderful way to celebrate this special day. Take time this year to count your blessings and to spend time with those you love. Being thankful for our good fortune . . .it's a good thing!
One only has to speak to people from other countries who come to Canada to find the freedoms we take for granted, to realize how fortunate we are and how thankful we should be. Citizens in other countries risk their lives to fight for the very freedoms we enjoy in Canada.
Closer to home, I am thankful for a wonderful family. My own little family and my extended family spend most holidays together. As I think back over the years at the gatherings I have enjoyed with brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and in-laws I realize anew what a wonderful family I was born into and I married into. I am grateful that at those gatherings we enjoy good food and always have enough left over for everyone to take food home. I compare that to the stories I have heard of children who have to fight for scraps of food just to survive.
I have wonderful friends which I am thankful for - both friends my husband and I have as a couple, and my female friends. When I compare the lives we lead as strong, independent women with the women in countries where they have no rights at all, I realize how fortunate we are. How blessed I am to have been born in a country and at a time when the women before me fought for the rights I and my friends now enjoy. My husband and I and our friends are privileged to have leisure time to enjoy getting together. For others, finding shelter and food is a full-time occupation with nothing left over for leisure.
I am grateful that by working and saving, my husband and I have a home we enjoy in a city we love. People in other countries work hard just to survive and will never have the opportunity to purchase their own home.
Thanksgiving is really a time to reflect upon how fortunate we are and how blessed our lives are. Well, for most us - the customary turkey is likely not so grateful to see Thanksgiving Day arrive. For the rest of us, however, enjoying a day with family and friends and being truly thankful for our good fortune is a wonderful way to celebrate this special day. Take time this year to count your blessings and to spend time with those you love. Being thankful for our good fortune . . .it's a good thing!
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