Appreciating Thanksgiving

When I started writing this piece, I struggled to find the right words to convey the message I was hoping to because I realized that I couldn’t find a real reason why I appreciate the holiday. I love Christmas just as much as the next girl does. I mean, I’ve already got my little tree all decorated and the music playing on a loop. At the moment, I thought about my Christmas spirit, I realized that I was struggling to write a piece about appreciating Thanksgiving because I wasn’t appreciating myself. 

Moments later, I got a call from my uncle. Since I hadn’t spoken to him in a while, of course, I picked up the phone and put off writing this piece for a few more hours because with him living so far away in Europe, we usually talk for a while. In the time I talked to him, I told him about this article and how I was struggling to find something to write about in it. The first thing he told me was that Thanksgiving was one of his favorite holidays and that he’s sad they don’t celebrate it in Vienna, but then we discussed why Thanksgiving is a great holiday and it led me in a great direction. 

Coming home for Thanksgiving means seeing familiar faces and catching up for the first time since summer. You go out, get some food, catch up, and then possibly not see each other until the next break. But as time goes by, the periods between seeing your old peers get longer, and the connection you once had disappears. Eventually, coming home switches from going to your parent’s house to going to your own, and the phrase “I’m gonna go home for the weekend” switches to “I’m going to go visit my parents for the weekend.” And those peers you once sat down for a drink with becomes the person you bump into in the store and have a short five-minute conversation with only to never see them for another couple of years.  

As we talked about this, it reminded me of a quote from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while, you could miss it.” One day we are 17 and celebrating Thanksgiving with our parents, grandparents, and your cousins making jokes and playing a lot of games. But then you’re 70 in the blink of an eye and you’re celebrating the holiday with your kids and grandkids. 

Life does move pretty fast, and Thanksgiving gives us time to appreciate all of the crazy changes. Before we know it, things change and could either give us a whole new perspective on things or make us grow into a different person. These changes are usually scary, but they help us grow so much that we should take the time Thanksgiving gives us to appreciate how they have affected us and made us into the person we are. The time we get through the holiday should also be put towards appreciating the small things. There are so many aspects of our lives that we overlook because they have been present for so long, making us forget how extraordinary they truly are. 

Thanksgiving may be overrated to some and may have already passed, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t still be appreciated. It may give us time to appreciate everything in our lives, but we should also take the time to do this on a daily basis because some things aren’t permanent.