Be Thankful, Everyday

Holidays are kind of a weird concept. By definition, it's "A day of festivity or recreation when no work is done." So in the English dictionary, it's defined by the absence of work. Whether it is MLK Jr.'s birthday, Mothers' Day, or Thanksgiving, we take this one day--24 hours--to celebrate a specific person or event either to appreciate them or to reminisce/reflect an event in history. The older I get, the more apparent it becomes that these events or people we are celebrating on that one day should be appreciated more than just one day of the year.

There are about three days of the year (birthdays, Mothers/Fathers day, Xmas, etc.) when I get a card and maybe a gift for my parents, thanking them for everything they do for me and giving me unconditional love and support all my life. Zoom out for a second and let's think--3 days out of 365 days, that's 0.8% of the time we are showing gratitude to our parents. Seems minuscule compared to the amount of time we spend on other things. And it's not just our parents we're skimping on. On Thanksgiving, we reflect on all the things in our lives that we are grateful for: our jobs, our family and friends, our health, etc. This one day out of the year, we feel gratitude for all of the blessings in our lives.

Why did I start thinking about this? Well, a couple of weeks ago, I won my battle with pie crust. I have attempted many recipes for a flaky, simple pie crust for years now with little success. It never turned out quite right, always being too dense, too heavy, or not flaky enough. FINALLY! I tried this recipe from Land 'O Lakes that was quick and didn't require any chill time. I used it for mini apple pies (will be positing soon!) and it turned out buttery, flaky, and easy to work with. Since it turned out so well, I had the idea of baking up a bunch of pies and taking them to a homeless shelter or soup kitchen that is serving Thanksgiving meals. I started looking up some shelters in my area and while doing this search, I came across dozens of articles that all gave this one suggestion: If you want to do your part in helping those in need, DO NOT volunteer your time on Thanksgiving.

Wasn't there a Thanksgiving episode of How I Met Your Mother where the shelter said they had too many volunteers and didn't need anymore? There's a reason why I, along with hundreds of other people, feel compelled to do something charitable around this time of year. The holidays are a time when we're constantly reminded of how blessed we are in comparison to others who are less fortunate. These people are often happier with much less and the things they wish for are the things we take for granted. 

With that in mind, remember:

• To not only be thankful around the holidays or on the days that the calendar tells us to be
• That there are those in need of help/food/shelter everyday not just on Thanksgiving
• Our parents are deserving of more than 0.8% of our year

Be thankful, everyday.