It’s the time of year for being all that is the spirit of the holidays.
Last week, we made our menus for Thanksgiving and our shopping lists for Black Friday, and we had fun planning our favorite dish contributions for whatever get-togethers we had.
The cooks around town clipped coupons and shopped for the best prices. They searched through their cookbooks for the recipes they wanted to try, and others held to those recipes that have been tried and true for their families.
Maintaining the family traditions of years passed is what these holidays are all about. And some of those traditions involve dinners at favorite restaurants as well.
No one does it exactly the same, but we did all have one common thread on Thanksgiving – thankfulness.
And many of us have much to be thankful for, before and after Thanksgiving.
So, tell me, why are we arguing?
Yes, arguing: One of the most common arguments I overheard last week involves when to decorate for the holiday that follows Thanksgiving.
Some of y’all say it is forgetting Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas before the annual consumption of our turkey dinners.
In a rush for Christmas, we forget to be thankful. It is insulting not to give Thanksgiving its due. Others say Christmas decorations enhance Thanksgiving. Some go as far to make the point that it is tradition to light up thinks on Thanksgiving night.
And by things, I mean anything from Christmas trees, our homes, our bushes and, yes, anything we feel the desire to light up with twinkling lights.
And if that doesn’t grab your attention, add to it the argument over the cup issue at the famous coffee house, the proper, politically correct way to wish each other a nice holiday and what is believed to be a good decoration theme.
Really.
Ladies and gentleman, we just survived a 1,000-year flood. Some were not so lucky.
In our state, at least 20 lives were lost. This means families lost loved ones. A lot more than that lost their homes, their possessions, their pets and more.
But each and every day brings rebuilding, repairing and recovering.
Neighbors are still helping neighbors.
Everyone is still lending a hand, and when they have nothing to offer, they lend a shoulder of compassion. They offer themselves.
Our beautiful state and all of our towns and cities are moving forward on the road to recovery. And it hasn’t been easy, as the rain continues to show up and make its home here for days at a time.
Construction has had to slow down, forcing a number of delays. Some folks are still struggling to get back to work. We still have a long way to go, but we are getting there.
So, tell me, why are we arguing.
I thought long and hard before writing this piece for you. It is not my intention to make light of any issue about which an individual chooses to express their opinion, even if it results in an argument.
I only wanted to bring attention to one overwhelming factor we all share during the holidays: We survived.
We have the opportunity to celebrate, however we want, however we can. Some will lavishly, others demure.
Some say stuffing, others say dressing. Some say turkey, others say ham.
But all of us, no matter how we celebrated Thanksgiving, nor how we will celebrate Christmas, we surely share one thought: We are thankful for our survival.
No matter when you choose to celebrate or decorate, we’ve all yet again been given the gift of life. And again, we should just be thankful. The most beautiful thing of all, in my opinion, is just as we came together in a disaster, we have and will all again come together during these holidays.
I doubt in the long run it will matter what day anyone lights up a tree or hangs a stocking for a very excited child.
For those who know me well, I am a true holiday fanatic. I apologize ahead of time if my loud squeals of delight at all of the early decorations displayed interrupted anyone’s arguments.
I inherited my mother’s talents in the kitchen during Thanksgiving and my dad’s exuberant love of Christmas. But I am most proud of a lesson I learned during my childhood years when we didn’t have much at all: Be thankful for everything and anything you are blessed with, even if it’s just each other.
Curtis J. Baker, my father, told me that.
Until we meet again, I want you to know that if we must argue, may it be about who is the first to donate to those less fortunate and what the best way is to give to those still in need.
After all, it is always better to give than to receive.
