These are hands down my favorite holiday decorations. Who knew toilet paper rolls, paper plates, construction paper, and glitter would bring me such joy? Bird said he was thankful for a ball, our cat, Mom, TV, and toys. Deal was thankful for orange pumpkins, friends, toys, Beary (his well-loved teddy bear), and books. I’d like for them to make these again this year and am scheming how I can cajole my family into some craft time. Bird made this when he was five and had just started kindergarten. Deal was three and couldn’t yet write.
The boys are now 17 and 15 in their senior and sophomore years in high school respectively. Their voices are deep and Adam’s apples bulging. They tower over me and bend down for me to kiss their cheeks. To me, they are still my little boys and I see glimpses of their childhood selves in the men they are becoming. We’ve spent countless hours together since March when our world shut down. It hasn’t been Hallmark channel joy by any stretch. I’ve been more Mommy Dearest than June Cleaver. Our patience is threadbare, our souls weary. Moods around here pop like kernels in hot oil, exacerbated by teenage and perimenopausal hormones. Giddiness ebbs and flows rather than abounds, and we retreat to corners of the house when we need solitude. Alas, the boys set the table and we still sit down for dinner every night. We watch TV and play games, though the weeks-long game of Risk has admittedly been languishing at the kitchen table for a while now. Our home has become our whole world.
What I have come to see clearly is that it really is all about the simpler things. We don’t need extravagance, and if I’m being honest with myself, I realize how I lost myself yearning for more and taking for granted what I have. I mean 2020, has taught us that, right? As a people we are slow to learn and even slower to act. This year has been rough beyond measure with so much lost and so little won. Yet here we are, rolling forward and looking ahead with the weight of grief and the lightness of hope. When I was in high school I had to write an essay on the theme “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” And so in that spirit, I’m sharing some words I penned 10 years ago. Here is my Thanksgiving wish.
More loving, less loathing.
More helping, less hindering.
More giggles, less gloom.
fins valueMore humility, less hubris.
More friendship, less fighting.
More praise, less pain.
More delight, less depression.
More glee, less grief.
More smiles, less sadness.
More gratitude, less grousing.
More respect, less ridicule.
More shining, less shunning.
More grace, less grandeur.
More loftiness, less lowliness.
More hugging, less hitting.
More agreement, less agitation.
More compromises, less conflicts.
More affection, less affliction.
More joking, less jeering.
More hope, less hate.
Thank you friends, for your wisdom, comfort, laughter, and support. I’m grateful to you who challenge me to look at the world through a different lens and to those who use their voice, platform, pens, keyboards, muscles, brains, energy, and heart to make our world more just and joyous.