By Rick Houser – 

It just hit me. I don’t know why it has taken so long for me to become aware but it sure did. November rolled around and the temperatures have gotten lower and the pumpkin pies are for sale almost everywhere. I guess the gritty, grimy details of living each day blinded me from one of life’s hardest facts.
Thanksgiving Day is almost here, a holiday that says so much to all of us. For the year we have just been granted, it is time to take a day and give thanks for all we were given throughout the year. Of course when the word Thanksgiving is mentioned, we all immediately think of turkey and dressing and sweet potatoes. That is all well and good but what I am trying to say is different. When Thanksgiving does roll around, we should take a few moments to think about all we have received throughout the year. Not just the big items like a new house or car or a new job, but be thankful for our good health, getting to have a job, and getting to keep it.
I have been told ever since I was young and I try very hard to remember to be truly thankful each and every year. Just getting to experience the year is a blessing in itself. My mom was a good one at bringing it to our attention. As a little boy and then as a teen, just how did I have the time for such a silly thing as saying thanks? As a young adult and after I was married, not only my Mom but my wife Sharon both reminded me in different ways that I should be thankful. Why even my Dad seemed to join in and when saying grace on Thanksgiving Day he would always say “we say thanks for what we are about to receive.” So I feel that if I didn’t remember to give a little thanks on my own it certainly wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own so I always have tried to show my appreciation.
That is almost until this year. I can tell you that I have been busy, but then who isn’t? I could say I have been wrapped up in chores and such but who isn’t? I can spit out a hundred excuses but that just doesn’t take the place of what needs to be done. Come Thursday when Thanksgiving arrives I can tell you all that I will be ready.
Of course there will be plenty of foods that we usually see on that holiday and we will share them with our relatives and maybe even a couple of friends. It is a day I really do look forward to and for good reason. Good food, family, and friends can only make for a great day and we all really could stand one as carrying out our day to day duties no matter what they might be do become burdensome to say the least.
What is served or not served isn’t really what makes up this day anyway. The fellowship and time together is what really makes the top of the chart. We really don’t know if we all will be here for next year’s Thanksgiving and that is a sad but true fact, but no matter who arrives to sit at the table, fellowship will occur again just as it is supposed to and always has.
I know at Thanksgiving we can’t help but look back at the ones we have shared this day with through all the years. It seems that the crowd changes every so often but that is just the way it has been and will be. The other part of the day I look at my grandchildren and grand nephews or nieces and realize that there will always be a crowd when Thanksgiving comes in the future. We can only hope that the children we raised are telling the future generation to hold Thanksgiving as a special day and a day to say thanks for not just now, but for the year past.
All this talk of Thanksgiving now has me remembering all those aromas that I grew accustomed to smelling in the years gone by. The thought of turkey sandwiches the day or two after Thanksgiving doesn’t sound too bad either. After a day of eating too much, loosening the belt, and falling asleep during a football game, we can look back at a stress-less day and one more time say thanks.
Hopefully we all come away from Thanksgiving well rested. Many will need the rest because they will be rising early to get on the road and head to the malls to do battle with all the other crazy shoppers. I guess Black Friday is there to return us to the world that we just took a rest from. I hope all of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Rick Houser grew up on a farm near Moscow in Clermont County and loves to share stories about his youth and other topics. If you wish he may be able to speak to your group. He may be reached at houser734@yahoo.com.