Photo by Karoline Grabowska for Unsplash)
Sitting at a table laden
With more than those around it
Could ever eat
It’s easy to be thankful.
Right?
The savory gravy you only let yourself have
On this day. (And maybe Christmas.)
Your Aunt Pam’s heavenly pumpkin chiffon pie
The recipe outlived her, but she
Bequeathed it to your cousin Maggie on her deathbed
Who added a salted maple twist…Oh yes.
We Are Thankful.
It’s a harder climb though
To be thankful for
The Learnings, the
Lessons, the
Growth opportunities that
Shape themselves into Joe, your
Brother In Law, who shows up
To these things loaded, and it’s not just the beer
He’s bursting with opinions he’s carefully crafted to
Piss you off.
Can you take him in
Before reacting? Can you
See the fear that requires the
Beer that coats him in an
Armor you have never
Needed to wear?
Your armor is made of
Other stuff. Fashioned perhaps, for
Other occasions, but still
You have it.
To be Thankful
Deeply even for this
To be able to smile
Shake your head and offer
Joe some gravy with
“Those old chestnuts”
This is Thanksgiving.




I so agree but I always try to do my best and be forgiving!