Giving Thanks

In 1992, I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with my friend April's family in a little quiet town called Sublimity, in Oregon. We were both going to Ricks College at the time, and I didn't have the money to go home to Virginia for the holidays. Her family, without hesitation, took me in, made a place for me in their home, and treated me like another family member. Not a guest, not a friend. Family. I was expected to help clean, make dinners, run errands. I was included in "healthy debates", fell victim to the brothers' "gas attacks", and was the target of a few pranks. When we stayed at Grandpa and Grandma's farm, I was issued my own rubber boots to use so I didn't have an excuse not to wade ankle deep in cold, slushy cow stinky to help with farm chores at O'DARK:THIRTY in the morning. In a place that was completely alien to me, I was home. I will never EVER forget how grateful I was for that, and how profoundly it affected my perspective on the word 'family'.

That Thanksgiving, as was their tradition, we went around the table before we ate and each took a turn to voice our gratitudes. I could hardly choke out the words when I tried to express how deeply moved and grateful I was that this family had taken me in and welcomed me with open arms and hearts.

Thank you, Grandpa, Grandma, Mike, Pat, April, Aaron, Brett, Jared and Kyle, wherever you are.

I have so much to be grateful for. This year I wanted to make a grocery list of just a few things that come to mind at this time of year. Although woefully short of all of the things I enjoy, here goes, from A to Z. Some religious, some funny, lots of multiples, too many I can't think of:

Atonement*Adoption*Air Conditioning
Book of Mormon*Babies*Baptism*Baths*Blogs
Christ*Chemotherapy*Constitution*Church*Cars
Declaration of Independence*Doctine & Covenants
Education*Electricity*Eternity
Family*Forgiveness*Flowers*Friends*Food
Google*Grandparents*Games
Heavenly Father*Holy Ghost*Home*Holidays*Hospitals
Ice Cream*Illusionists
Joseph Smith*Jokes
Kids*Kites*Kindergarten
Life*Lemonade*Lessons
Marriage*Military*Moon
Neighbors*Nature*Nerds
Oranges*Opinions
Prophet*Priesthood*Pioneers*Prayer*Parents
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles*Quiet
Relief Society*Revelation*Repentance*Restrooms*Rain
Safety*Service*Sleep
Temples*Teachers*Technology*Trials
United States of America*Umbrellas
Veterans*Vaporizers
Water*Work
Xrays
Youth*Yards
Zion*Zip-Locks*Zoos

From my home to yours,

.

Happy Thanksgiving!