Thankfulness

Norman Rockwell

Last year on Thanksgiving I had dinner on an Amtrak train somewhere in between Chicago and Flagstaff. I was on my way to my younger brother's wedding in Phoenix. Eating some version of "turkey" in the Amtrak dining car while talking with fellow passengers was a fun adventure.  (One of the people I met on the train last year is building an orphanage in the Phillipines - check it out: dougsdream.com )  I'm looking forward to my next Amtrak trip in a few weeks when I slowly make my way to Atlanta to spend Christmas with the family. I promise the train is worth two days of travel. (And I don't have to worry about those TSA officers getting frisky!)


This year I'm staying in Chicago for Thanksgiving. The program for which I work does a big Thanksgiving dinner for all the families in my program. And, I have plans to hang out with a coworker who is also staying in the area without family on the day-of. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays - so I'll miss being with my family but am thankful for friends in the area and the knowledge that just because I don't spend a certain calendar day with my family that our relationship would suffer. I'm very thankful for my parents, brothers, and sister-in-law. The older I get the more I realize just how blessed I have been with my family.