Before our social media feeds are inundated with someone else's interpretation of the perfect Thanksgiving I find myself wondering what actually is the "perfect" way to holiday?
Let me first begin by saying I'm pretty confident that there is no right way, wrong way or even perfect way because for each of us it is something entirely different. We are so uniquely crafted with our own likes, dislikes and ideas of what is good and bad that it is no wonder someone always leaves a holiday gathering unhappy while someone else can leave the same gathering feeling warm and fuzzy. Some of us soldier on patiently tolerating intolerable relatives for the sake of the family while others avoid family completely for just that reason. We all see things from our own unique perspectives and that is completely ok. In fact, I'll be bold enough to say it's what makes the world go round (and also feel like it comes to a screeching halt sometimes too!)
The reality of our current circumstances vs our expectations and desires for our own holiday celebrations can actually be worlds apart leaving a holiday feeling anything but celebratory. Instead, it can feel depressing. There are so many factors that can play into this ~ it's LIFE for goodness sake! I think of those who have lost a loved one or a relationship. I think of those whose lives may be in transition or those dealing with stress or illness. I think of those who simply feel like life is just not living up to what they hoped it would be and on and on. All valid things that can steal the joy of the holiday season.
Now add the constant highlight reels of someone else's perfect holiday playing in our faces via social media and our current circumstances can become even harder to deal with. When it looks like everyone else is doing it "right" it's easy to wonder what we are doing wrong. But what if it isn't that something is wrong...what if it is just a season?
Like the weather, seasons of life come in all sorts of packages. Some drag on longer than anticipated, some are over too quickly, some more brutal than others and some seem just perfect. No two are ever the same. We go from childhood to young adulthood to fully adulting to single life to married life to parenting to aging and on and on. Life is constantly expanding and contracting. Today's table set for 12 may only be 4 by the next holiday because the bottom line is: life happens.
When I look back over my life, I can clearly see seasons I've weathered and seasons I've reveled in. The large family gatherings that slowly shrunk over the years as family relocated, siblings married and had new family to share their time with. Arriving in Nashville in October of 2015 I knew that Thanksgiving that year would be a little wonky and out of the norm for our family and I embraced it. Living in a corporate apartment with meager supplies, I ordered our pre made Thanksgiving dinner and set the table with our Thanksgiving china to add an air of normalcy and familiarity. When Christmas rolled around that same year and we were not settled in to a new home like I anticipated but still living in that apartment ~ well, that was not as easy to embrace. It was downright hard. It was a challenging season that made the first one finally settled in here on our farm all the sweeter for it. Funny how that happens.
This Thanksgiving looks vastly different for me than it has in recent years. The woman who has made a career focused on getting people around a table will have a table for two set in her home for Thanksgiving dinner this year. Ironic isn't it? But I am embracing this one off "season" of life and figuring out ways to make it extra special for two. Besides, now I can look forward to knowing that a full table next year will feel even sweeter.
Happy Thanksgiving from my table to yours ~ whatever they may look like.
