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Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. And for the past seven years, I’ve carried on my own personal Thanksgiving journalling tradition. Each day of the month, I write an entry about something I’m thankful for. It’s an exercise in positive thinking that tends to be needed around this time of year, when the days get short and the build up to the holidays and tax season make things around here even crazier than usual.

Sometimes I wax philosophical, but most times (especially toward the end of the month) I just write a line or two. I don’t think I’ve had a perfect record any of the past seven years, but this year Alasdair is going to help me out and we’ll take turns, so each of us only has to do 15 days. And — (drum roll, please) — we’re going to make it public here on the ol’ blog!

I invite those of y’all with blogs (and even those without!) to join us — as much or as little as you would like — in this Thanksgiving Fest (to precede the Thanksgiving Feast!). We’d love to hear what you are thankful for.

Today, it’s my turn, and I am thankful for that old Thanksgiving classic: my family.

When most people in England find out that I have five siblings, they are amazed. I think they might even feel sorry for me — but I actually feel sorry for them! I used to say that I loved having a big family because I have five best friends, but now I think it’s more accurate to say that I have ten best friends, because my sisters-in-law and brother-in-law are so dear to me, too. We all enjoy each other’s company so much, and have a blast whenever we are together. I am so grateful for the gift that my parents gave to us of a large family, and for their dedication to that family and each other. We have so many fun memories and traditions, and every year we make more.

Being so far away, Ali and I miss out on a lot of the family gatherings — Bear Lake reunions, football games, baptisms, camping trips, holiday parties. We know we won’t be here forever, though, and it’s also been a real treat to host each of my siblings in turn in Europe over the last few years and make some memories on this side of the Atlantic together. My nephews and nieces now number 14 (with one on the way!) and they are all such good buddies. I can’t wait until Alasdair and I can add to that number and watch our kids grow up surrounded by so much fun and love.

And, because a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s the photo I currently have set as my wallpaper on my computer. It’s the family gathering at Bear Lake from this last summer. Ali and I aren’t there, but everyone else is:

This entry was posted by Melissa on Saturday, November 1st, 2008 at 22:24 and is filed under uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.