With The holidays fast approaching, I’m reminded of one of my favorite childhood memories. Our family used to celebrate Thanksgiving, not just the day, but the whole week! Our week was filled with family, crafts, Charlie Brown, and leftovers. A classic classroom craft was the hand turkey; each person placed a hand on top of an orange piece of construction paper and carefully traced it with a brown crayon. Then we’d glue colorful feathers along the traced fingers and finish it off by drawing a beak and an eye on the tip of our traced thumb. It was magical how our little hand could transform into a turkey! The best part was showing off our masterpieces to our classmates. Giggles, camaraderie and joy filled the classroom. Most importantly, we celebrated each other’s work – together.

The night before Thanksgiving, my little sister and I would watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on network television. In the early 1980’s it was the only time of the year we could watch a show and a cartoon in the evening, which was a real treat. We’d get in our jammies and share a big bowl of popcorn. Most importantly, we enjoyed the show – together.

Every Thanksgiving, Mom would cook a feast and Dad would carve the turkey. He had a special turkey carving kit. It contained a large knife and fork with beautiful wooden handles which were stored safely in a teal fabric covered box. I saw this kit only twice a year on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dad would save the “wishbone”, from the turkey. He’d clean it and set it out to dry overnight. The next morning, my sister and I would each grab an end tightly with our little hands. Dad would begin a countdown three… we’d close our eyes…two… we’d make a wish… one… as soon as he yelled “PULL” we’d tug hard until the wishbone broke. Whoever ended up with the larger piece was believed to have their wish come true. Most importantly – we wished together.

Over the next few days, Mom would get creative with leftovers and try to disguise the remaining turkey in unique ways. She made pot pies, casseroles, soups, and sandwiches. It all tasted like the same turkey to us, but it didn’t matter. We ate what we were provided. Most importantly – we ate together.

As the years moved on and my sister and I went away to college, Thanksgiving held even more meaning. The crafts were no longer a staple in school, and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving was an afterthought, but we were always home as a family. It was always Mom, Dad, my little sister, me and the wishbone. It felt safe and comforting. Most importantly – we were safe together.

Thanksgiving has gotten a little more complex in my adult years. My parents are still together, happily married after 50 years, and my sister and I have formed our own families and boy how they have expanded! There are now in-laws to split time with, often resulting in two different meals. And, after some time family members moved out of state spreading apart our once cozy clique.

One year my Mom and Dad came to stay over Thanksgiving. It was a real treat to have them come out to visit. I promised to be that year’s host, so I also invited the in-laws to join us. It was the first Thanksgiving I had ever hosted and I knew it was important. There were nearly 20 people gathered that Thanksgiving. I studied up for weeks on how to cook a turkey and make homemade stuffing. It was a lot of work! I was so grateful my Mom was there to coach and cheer me on, and of course Dad was there to carve the turkey.

Until I put myself in the hostess’s shoes, I truly had no idea how much planning, prepping and shuffling it took to pull off a successful Thanksgiving meal. I had one oven, four stovetop burners and a crockpot. All were full and required specific timing. I told Mom over and over how much I appreciated all the work she put into preparing the Thanksgiving meals all those years. In the end it was a success! I slept really well that night. However, I forgot one important thing, the wishbone. That’s when I realized I’ve lost a bit of what the Thanksgiving spirit was for me.

That was the last Thanksgiving I shared with my parents, and it’s been years since I spent a Thanksgiving with my sister. Time has flown by. I’d come to accept that is how it will be from now on. We make the obligatory holiday phone calls and then I gather with my husband’s family for dinner. That’s how holiday celebrations turned out and I was okay going with the flow.

This year, because of COVID-19, my husband’s family’s Thanksgiving dinner has been cancelled. When I think back to what I am missing, I realize it’s the childhood spirit I had with my parents and sister growing up. It’s always great to have a Thanksgiving meal together, but it’s the magic that surrounded the meal that made it special to me. Sharing the hand turkey with classmates, watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with popcorn, eating turkey leftovers, and breaking the wishbone.

This is the year I will revive the Thanksgiving spirit I lost so many years ago. This year, I truly understand what gratitude is for me. We are alive and well. We are safe. We are loved. Thanksgiving is not just a turkey dinner, it’s an experience. It’s a time to reflect on family and friends. This year I plan to look through pictures, write heartfelt letters of gratitude and make SEVERAL phone calls to the ones I love.

We will bring back the giggling, the camaraderie, and the joy. Most importantly – we will do it together.

What traditions or memories will you revive this Thanksgiving?

Guest blog by Amy

2020 has been an interesting year for sure. At the end of 2019 and into 2020 began with being put on a performance improvement plan from a manager who had not the first clue how to manage, or how to be a team member for that matter. After the announcement in March of COVID-19 lockdown and our whole office relocating to work from home, I found that work became more stressful. I pondered how that could be possible. Why is this more stressful? I am away from a lot of the drama, this should be a good thing, right? The fact was that my manager was even more involved in every task and because I did not have a commute, I was working more hours than normal. Then in August, my manager finally got what she wanted. I was let go. Never had I experienced any disciplinary actions, negative responses, issues of any kind in my career. People that have worked with me in the past know that I take pride in my work and I put much of myself into my work. I took this as a failure. I kicked myself and tore myself down mentally (not that there was much left after my manager finished with me.) It did not feel real, but it was very much real.

I was angry for a while, I squeezed out a few tears and ultimately kept to myself. I was not in a positive space. But then I realized that I was pushing away the very thing that I needed – my support group. I had friends reaching out to me regularly to check and see how I was doing. I even had coworkers from my previous place of employment reach out to see how I was doing and share that work was not the same without me and that I was missed. I thrive off the energy of others and with COVID and now being jobless I was doing the worst thing for myself, blocking everyone out.

It is easy to fall into a dark place – you will sink like quicksand.

I started reaching out to my friends and my business network. I started connecting again with the people I know and love, and I realized that I am valued, I am appreciated, and I am loved. I needed to remember that I know myself. I needed to tap into the most important resource you can have – people.

Find your passion, lean on the people you know will support you and remember who you are. If you are stuck in quicksand use Thank Forward as a rope and start pulling yourself out. You are important. You have value. You can conquer anything with gratitude. – Amy

Guest Blog by Kristen J

Born again. Spiritual awakening. These are two terms I would cringe when hearing once upon a time. Anything that remotely resembled a tie to God, or any sort of a  higher power should be left to those who spend their Sundays under the steeple. My church and my spirituality come from being in the wilderness. And, come to find out, from whatever was at the bottom of that bottle.

Little did I know those words that I once despised in their essence, are simply a process of creating a change in perception. A change in a person’s way of thinking. Rewiring of the brain. A chance to turn, look, and walk down a different path than the one currently walked. I came to the realization (not by my own urging I might add) that I didn’t know, what I didn’t know, and I couldn’t see, what I couldn’t see.

When I first got sober in a twelve-step program, my experience causing spiritual awakening was so profound that I thought “The world could be such a better place if people were willing to go through a 12 step process….this isn’t just for alcoholics!” Turns out, many professionals, doctors and counselors feel the same way.

Within the program, I received so much more than the desire to stop drinking. As it turns out, my life now is much more fulfilling, peaceful and serene compared to the chaos I was living when drinking every day. Daily drinking was an attempt to find the attributes I now possess. I have true peace of mind. I have the ability to let things go and not hold onto resentments. I experience compassion for those I once despised and I’ve come to an understanding that my higher power doesn’t have to be what I was taught, or what my neighbor was taught, or of anyone else’s conception. My higher power is of my own understanding, and now I know my God. What a blessing in life – I have super-human power on my side if I reach out my hand and I am willing to believe!

The best part of any 12 step program is after you’ve earned your spiritual awakening or spiritual experience, it is your privilege to take the message to others. Not specifically the message of the program, but the message of being of service. To be other-centered as opposed to self-centered. To pay your good fortune forward, or to Thank it Forward.

2020 has been (fill in the blank), but as many members of my fellowship will say, there have been so many blessings because of COVID-19. Zoom meetings now connect people across the world, any hour on the hour. There are many people in need of a fellowship: Alcoholics. Drug Addicts. Food Addicts. Gamblers. Sex Addicts. Loved ones of addicts. Depressed people. Anxious people. People who are just irritable and discontent and can’t figure out why. Today, where it can feel so difficult to connect, there are more than likely hordes of people out there, just like you, for you to connect with…they’re now just a click away!

What communities, programs or groups do you rely on for support? What do you gain and what do you hope to contribute, in return, to the community?

Guest blog by:  Katherine Boller

Sometimes putting yourself first can feel selfish, and even more so when you are a parent (that mom guilt is real!). But, just like any other person intent on improving themselves and their world I realized that I need to prioritize myself. One way I found to do this was to start journaling – more specifically journaling gratitude.

Journaling your gratitude is exactly what it sounds like – making space for writing about what you are thankful for daily. Some days are tougher than others, especially when you’re feeling down, but there is always something to be grateful for – be it a good friend, the sunset, a good book, or hey, even that journal you’re writing in.

Why consider a gratitude journal?

Before we get into the how, it is important to share the why. It may be hard to start journaling, especially if it is not a habit you have practiced before.

Consider these benefits:

• Gratitude can increase long-term happiness by 10% and decrease depression by more than 30%.
• Gratitude can improve physical health.
• Gratitude can improve sleep.
• Gratitude can improve relationships.

Getting started

First, pick a journal, whether it is a physical notebook or an online app, it should fit you! It does not have to be lined paper; it could be a photobook or sketch book if you are more inclined to draw or photograph your gratitude. And if you would like, go ahead and add your why to the front page of the gratitude journal. It may add motivation on those days when things seem tougher than normal.

Next, pick a time that you can build it into your daily routine, and reserve that for your journaling. Remember it may take a couple of weeks to build it into your routine fully, and it is just as important to make sure your pre- and post-journaling routine aligns well for you. If that doesn’t work, switch it up until you find a time or routine that works! There is no requirement that it needs to happen at a certain time of day.

Once the journaling gratitude habit is established, enjoy reflecting on your journal! It is easy to reference your gratitude to lift you up from a particularly hard day, or when you are reflecting on your growth over time.

For those of you out there that are already journaling what benefits do you get from establishing this in your daily routine?

Guest Blog by Jennifer Garner

As the curator of rotating exhibits at Denver International Airport, I oftentimes get to witness and experience the world through other people’s eyes – or cameras! Due to COVID-19, a nearly empty airport and massive budget cuts, I was tasked with continuing my airport exhibits planning – at no cost. My solution? Create a virtual exhibit and put out a state-wide (Colorado) call-for-entry asking for photographs depicting positive interpretations of the “new norm” during the pandemic.

My goal for the virtual exhibit, Colorado from a Distance, was to capture the creative and uplifting ways people stay connected during such trying times. I specifically asked for images of distantly celebrated special occasions, how people kept in contact with loved ones and how people found a sense of community in a unique and safe way. The results were beautiful and endearing. It was so hard to narrow them down, but the final photographs were absolutely awe-inspiring. Some brought bittersweet tears to my eyes.

Overall, the pandemic has essentially forced me to create new and unique programming while dually fulfilling a mission to culturally engage the greater community. The silver lining? I have met and befriended so many new people, creatives and artists! I have to say, there’s nothing better than expanding my archive of amazing artists but I especially enjoy alerting people that their photo was selected for an exhibit — and that it’s going to be showcased in partnership with one of the nation’s busiest airports!

What an unexpectedly strange, disappointing, and topsy-turvy year it’s been! But there have absolutely been glimmers of joy and optimism due to many of us choosing to look at the world through an entirely different set of lenses. It was genuinely a labor of love to work on the virtual exhibit project this year as it brought a huge amount of joy to my soul. Plus, I knew it brought happiness and inspiration to so many others. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to personally witness how people creatively persevere during the toughest of times. And to me, nothing is more beautiful than that.

View DEN’s virtual exhibits at www.flydenver.com/about/art_culture/virtual_programming

 

Guest Blog by DS

Thankfully, people have helped me many times in my life.  When I express my gratitude, I’ve been told to just do something nice for others.  It’s the little things in my life that make a big impact.  Doing something nice for others has been my life’s passion, and I find great joy in “paying it forward”.

A noun is often defined as “a person, place, animal, or thing”.  What strikes me most about a noun is the animal or thing.  My heart holds a special affinity for animals, plants and gardening.  As humans, we have great ability to express ourselves.  The animals and living “things” in our lives try so very hard to express love, but aren’t always noticed.  If we’d pause for a moment, we’d all recognize the appreciation they give.  The feeling is expressed in their eyes, wags, purrs, vibrant colors, strength, abundance, and growth.

We house several chickens and guinea fowl near our home.  Every morning I wake and head out to their coop to clean and feed.  As I pick up each egg, I thank them aloud.  As I recognize the lack of bugs and ticks, I thank them aloud.  As I pick the garden vegetables, I thank them aloud.  Most of all, I thank them aloud for the joy they bring.  It truly brings me joy to have them in my life.

Paying it forward doesn’t just mean doing an action, it also means recognizing others who do great things.  This fall, a car broke down at the end of our driveway.  It was a woman who needed to reach school to pick up a child.  Before I was able to reach her, a passer-by stopped to offer help.  It was a beautiful exchange, and I was able to share their story with a local news reporter!  Although I wasn’t there in time to help myself, I was able to recognize it and share a “feel good” story.

Whenever I see someone picking up trash, holding a door open, or cleaning a public place we all frequent, I thank them.  It’s not hard to do, and you will truly feel happy inside. – DS