Are You There Yet?

It always amazes me how crazy this Thanksgiving scene is on the nation's highways and byways for Thanksgiving. If one considers it carefully, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to have a holiday so close to all the other holidays in December, when there is another superabundance of busy travel schedules. The hubbub of airports and travel depots or toll plazas and expressways make for very trying and vexing times as college students and offspring of all generations make their way back to their parents' homes or in-laws. Yet, this is in reality a holiday about family. For most Americans it is their favorite holiday. There's not gifting or wrapping involved. The present one receives or gives for that matter is himself. We are a nation that above all else reveres family. The sight of a child coming through a portal or ringing the front bell makes every parent's heart beat a little faster as we see how they have matured for yet another year. So, too, for the offspring is the thrill of seeing their parents a little grayer for the time or perhaps a favorite aunt or uncle who, were it not for Thanksgiving, would just be content to be eating a frozen meal at home or having a special at a local cafeteria. Thanksgiving is not just the most American of holidays. It is the most genuine of holidays. For those of us who recognize a higher power, there is a need deep within to praise God and join as a family in the celebration of life amidst the certainty that life is oftentimes all too short. For many of us it would not be surprising to recall the last time we saw a relative was at Thanksgiving a year or two ago before he or she was gone. Through the haze of many different Thanksgivings we see families grow and grow older and sometimes pass away without anything to recall their memories. Perhaps one of the best things we can do on Thanksgiving is hold onto one another just a little longer and remember that life is a gift that needs to be cherished. We need Thanksgiving not for ballgames or turkey or even those delicious pies. We need to be in the comfort of home and hearth to say to each other in our own way "I love you." May the celebration in each of our homes make for happy times as we break our necks to get wherever we are going or as we prepare to meet and greet our loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.