It’s that special time of year when everyone is decorating their homes with pilgrims, Native Americans, and turkeys. Children can be heard singing “Over the river and through the woods” as pumpkin spice candles fill homes with the scent of the most beloved American holiday—Thanksgiving.

Wait, does my neighbor already have her Christmas tree up in her front window? Why are all of the pumpkins seventy-five percent off at Hobby Lobby? Once again, Thanksgiving is getting the shaft! I honestly feel sorry for Thanksgiving. I can just imagine Charlie Brown wondering if anyone cares that all he has to serve at his Thanksgiving dinner is popcorn and toast on a ping pong table. I care, Charlie Brown! I care a great deal about Thanksgiving, but I think I’m the only one.

I think the significance of Thanksgiving has been lost on many in recent times. We’ve lost the feeling that Thanksgiving is an important holiday. As soon as Halloween ends, we just skip right over to Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas! My house will soon enough look like the Griswolds’, but I do take the time to enjoy the season of Thanksgiving.  I hope I can convince some of you to jump on the Thanksgiving love bandwagon.

The first Thanksgiving happened in 1621. Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered together to thank God for the blessing of a bountiful harvest. Two groups that most likely had more differences than similarities at the time, put those differences aside and celebrated together.  That’s pretty amazing if you really consider it! Think about our world today and how much adversity we see on a daily basis. Can you imagine if we put our differences aside and sat down to feast together and thank God for our blessings? What an amazing thing that would be! Our early settlers had the intelligence to know that this was a great idea.

As a child, I remember my mother telling me that Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday. This made no sense to me. What could beat Christmas and presents or Halloween and candy? When I asked her why, she explained that Thanksgiving comes with no expectations and little stress. It is about gathering with the ones you love and eating a good meal together. It is about being thankful for what you do have instead of focusing on what you do not have. There’s no pressure to buy the perfect gift. The gift of Thanksgiving is togetherness. It was beautiful and perfect like most of my mother’s words, and I’ve never forgotten it.

Thanksgiving is a time for gratitude. As a mother, it’s one of the most important things I feel I can teach my children. Much of my life is me telling my children to hurry so we are not late for this appointment or church or whatever. I love Thanksgiving and do not want to hurry it out the door.

So, I plan to savor this season until November 24. Then I will focus on Christmas. But until then, you can find me dreaming of green bean casserole, applesauce jello (yes, that’s a real dish and it’s delicious), and rice dressing! Until then, you can find my children reading Thanksgiving books and writing thankful messages on our thankful turkey. Until then, you can find me counting down the days until the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Because as for me and my house, we will celebrate Thanksgiving!