Iris' Thanksgiving Celebration

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway~
Thanksgiving comes again!

~Old Rhyme

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MY RECOLLECTIONS OF THANSGIVING

As a youngster, I truly enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving. I looked forward to going to the colorful Thanksgiving parade. My Dad had a drycleaning store located on the very same street that the parade passed by and he would gather up a few of the neighborhood kids and take them along to enjoy the annual parade. We would stand up on the counters inside his store, sheltered from the cold and sometimes snowy weather. We had the best viewing of all, and we were warm and cozy.

parade

Meanwhile, my Mom was at home cooking up a storm, lady serving turkey

so we could devour all the wonderfulThanksgiving goodies.

As I grew into a teenager, attending the annual high school football game replaced watching the parade and I joined my friends in cheering our team on to win. I don't know if our school's team was that great, or if our opposing team was just very bad, but traditionally, our home team always won by a landslide and it put us in a glorious mood to celebrate. The thought of that sumptuous meal awaiting heightened my already ravenous appetite.

When I returned home, I was greeted by family and friends who were invited to share the holiday feast with us.

family gathered at table

The aromatic odor eminating from the kitchen was sheer euphoria!! And the table was laden with turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potato puffs, and lots of desserts ~ symbols of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

What a wonderful celebration we all had!

Today, as a senior citizen, Thanksgiving has an entirely different significance to me. With family across the miles, there are no more festive dinner parties, and the only parade I watch is seen on television. Instead, the holiday to me is a time to do some soul searching and to give thanks for my blessings.

With the security of our nation being threatened, it is a time to pray for peace and the well-being of all freedom-loving people. It is a time to give thanks that America stands so united.

I have much to give thanks for personally, and the following poem, written by By Wilferd Peterson reflects my feelings and expresses them much more meaningfully than I could ever do.

THE ART OF THANKSGIVING

The art of thanksgiving

Is gratitude in action...

Is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly.

Is thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common good.

Is thanking God for all that men and women have done for you by doing things for others.

Is thanking God for opportunities by accepting them as a challenge to achievement.

Is thanking God for happiness by striving to make others happy.

Is thanking God for beauty by helping to make the world more beautiful.

Is thanking God for inspiration by trying to be an inspiration to others.

Is thanking God for the creative ideas that enrich life by adding your own creative contributions to human progress.

Is thanking God for each new day by living it to the fullest.

Is thanking God by giving hands, arms, legs, and voice to your thankful spirit.

Is adding to your prayers of thanksgiving acts of thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving
an informative site by mlski

Thanksgiving Sites
lots of sites from Holiday Helpers group

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I'm happy to share this Thanksgiving page with you and hope you enjoyed it also. Have a wonderful holiday and please visit my home page Iris's Holidays and sign my guest book so I'll know you stopped by.

happy thanks picture

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