Let’s get thankful. Thankful for those around us, and those who have affected our lives for the better. Thankful for the farmers who spend countless hours and long days in every weather condition to bring us excellent food. Thankful for the Earth and her bounty. Thankful for life, and wisdom, and the experiences that we all bring to the table.

Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, our tables at The General Store will be empty as we’re closed for the holiday, but we hope that everyone finds a table where they can feel comfortable and eat well, and enjoy the love of family and community. Even if that table is a lap, and even if that company is a stranger, or a brief phone call or “thank you” text. Everyone is deserving of friendship and love, and we are all deserving of a healthy meal.

Last year, it was hoped that by Thanksgiving 2021, life would be fully back to normal, and that mostly seems to be the case. But we’ve all had nearly two years of a kind of reflection that is rarely afforded to such a fast-paced always-connected society — reduced in-person socializing, more people continuing to work and celebrate from home, and a greater awareness and focus on mental, emotional, and physical health has led many to say “Nah, I don’t need that thing, I don’t need to go to that place… I’m going to stay home and catch up with me”. The last two years have been stressful, and at times sobering. We’ve lost loved ones. We’ve had children. We’ve perhaps rediscovered who we are, or have embraced beautiful parts of ourselves we thought had been completely lost. Things have changed a lot even since last Thanksgiving.

Life is too short and too unpredictable, which is why these precious days to stop everything else and just celebrate what we have are so important. Every society that has ever existed has had some celebration of life, and harvest and of the passage of time, a renewal of vows and a place for thanks to be given. On Friday, some of us will use that pent-up energy and those absorbed calories to begin shopping in earnest for presents for our other major end of the year celebration, some of us will head right back to work, and I hope that you find some time on Thanksgiving to take a moment of real earnestness in this crazy life to find deep thanks in the world around us.

A moment to breathe.

A moment of quiet with just you and your heart. May your cheeks flush with the full joyfulness of right now, whether it’s in silence, or over the raucous sounds of gathering in friendship and unity.

We all deserve it. We’re all worthy of being our true best selves, and sharing that feast of love with others in some meaningful form. May your blessings be too many to count, and may they overflow so that you can share them with others. There’s too already too much heartbreak in the world; may you be the reason someone smiles, and may both your belly and soul feel nourished at the end of the day.

What are you thankful for?