The Table is Set.. . .

And we give thanks. We give thanks for the family that is with us. We give thanks for the friends who have come to share our day. We give thanks for the bounty on the table. We give thanks for the capacity for pleasure in the meal and in each other. We give thanks for the phone calls and the emails and the thoughts of those who are not with us. And we give thanks for the time we have in these bodies and feast of the senses they experience. We are blessed. And we give thanks.

I read a marvelous quote from an ordinary human, "the source of all celebrations is within". If we did not have marvelous feast and a gathering of friends and family, to take the time and give thanks would have been just as meaningful. And from the point of view of the hosts, what could have been a stressed out, over the top cranky picky bossiness (I am a control freak in the kitchen - comes from all those years of cooking for pay) day of preparation was an easy set of tasks with my two guys - Jon and Steve - working like a well oiled machine. And unlike other years while I ran between cooking and hostessing, I let that go, trusting that the family and friends assembled didn't need me to manage their social interaction. So while the guests enjoyed each other I gave myself the luxury of attending the cooking hearth in an unhurried way. I let myself be grateful for the ability to make this meal, the assistance of my son and spouse, the opportunity to welcome people into our home (and gratitude that having guests is such a catalyst for house cleaning). All celebrations come from within. And it was lovely within and without. And it would have been just as lovely with fewer sides, an unbrined turkey and only two kinds of pie. But, in spite of my pledges to simplify, simplify, simplify, as long as my personal situation allows, I will still go over the top with all the goodies of this food centered holiday. I am after all, my mother's daughter. And her mother's granddaughter, and . . . and for that, too, I give thanks.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into

enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,

confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a

home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past,

brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

.

Melody Beattie