Happy Thanksgiving!

A good friend who is originally from England once told me that, while she doesn’t celebrate a lot of the holidays over here that we do, she really gets into Thanksgiving. When I asked her why it was that particular American holiday she chose to immerse herself into she first and foremost said that Thanksgiving is about just that, giving thanks. She’s right. While not a strictly religious holiday, we can be thankful that in America we are free to thank whomever we choose, be it God, Allah, Buddha, the Great Spirit, or merely the farmers who worked hard to grow and harvest the bounty found on numerous dinner tables across the nation today. Thanksgiving is also about family, a word that has gone beyond the 1950’s picture perfect nuclear definition, and now signifies love and commitment shared by people in often complex household structures. And perhaps that is after all what we should be the most thankful for, our nation’s ability to embrace a diverse collection of cultures, traditions, and beliefs that have helped form one of the greatest countries in the world. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!