Thank-Full

Each year, as I watch all the holiday commercials of families gathered around tables brimming with golden turkeys, creamy mashed potatoes, steamy dishes of stuffing and green bean casserole (all of which I consumed this year might I add), I get a little wistful for that idyllic, Norman Rockwell moment.

Right. This is 2011 - who's Thanksgiving looks like that?

Most likely you have some crazy aunt (or uncle) that shows up with a jello mold and pinches your cheeks and remarks how you've grown (although you've been north of 30 for a while now). There are probably one too many casseroles, sides and pies than there are ovens, causing tensions to run high as the turkey gets cold. Perhaps there's fighting over the remote..."Parade!" "No, football!" And maybe like at my house you have 12 paws worth of canines all trying to secretly sneak a nibble of any of the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen (luckily, we've never had to actually order a pizza because of the darlings ravenous appetites).

For all this, I am thank-full.

Full of cheesy cornbake...

Full of herb-roasted turkey breast, soft and buttery rolls, sweet and tangy cranberries, cinnamony pumpkin pie with a dab (well, maybe a whopping dab) of whipped cream.

Thankful for the blessings of my family, good friendships, health, prosperity, my Hallmark Christmas CDs (don't judge me please) and of course red wine.

Perhaps most of all, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of a baby born so many years ago in a stable, I am thankful for hope in the year to come.

Yes, for all these things, I am thank-full.