Your Place at the Table

I’m really feeling the effects of this year’s late Thanksgiving. People are skipping right over this holiday and they are already getting Christmas trees. Even my kids have been pleading for me to get our tree now - sharing some statistic that claims, “Those who get their Christmas trees early are happier people.” Well, I prefer to be unhappy thank you very much. I will wait until Black Friday.

Here’s why: Thanksgiving is my jam folks! Not the food per se but the actual event that it represents. I have 4 years of blog posts that support the very fundamentals of gratitude and I’m pretty sure that I will be blogging about thoughtfulness and gratitude for many more years to come.

Gratitude, just like thoughtfulness, is an endless topic. In my opinion, thoughtfulness and gratitude, two different words that have two different meanings, cannot be used separately without implying the other. Ponder this: when we have a moment to think about someone in a thoughtful way, it’s never a moment that we’re feeling ungrateful about something they said or did. We are thinking of that person because some sort of gratitude is attached to the thought. The same goes with being grateful. Whoever or whatever we are grateful for is usually tied into an appreciation for a thoughtful gesture(s).

This year, I will be cooking the Thanksgiving dinner for my family which makes me happy because it’s one of my favorite meals to make. However, I have to share that giving little gifts for Thanksgiving, is pretty exciting too because it’s my way of showing our appreciation to the teachers, coaches, instructors, postman etc. When I search for these Thanksgiving thoughtful pinches , it’s always a challenge because 1. there isn’t a lot of merchandise in the stores that supports this non-gift-giving holiday and 2. I don’t want to spend more than a dollar or two (see this link, this one and this one for past T-day pinches) because I would rather donate more money to those who are in need.

This year I bought these little (too little because I failed to read the dimensions!) place card holders. The package includes place cards which open up. Every teacher will get the same note inside but it will include a different, personal message hand-written by my kids. After using this cute piece of wood as a place setting, it can be used to hold a single photo, postcard, business card, notecard etc. Super handy. These are from Amazon.

My 5th grader has been eagerly learning about the government and will soon be jumping into the American Revolution. Apparently, thanks to his teacher Ms. Long, he’s liking government so far!

Our Lower School Engineering & Programming Specialist, otherwise known as Mr. Druskin, has been connecting with my son. Mr. Druskin is patient and my son is grateful to learn from him.

Your version of a Thanksgiving Day dinner, no matter what, will always have a place at the table for you. Your place at the table matters. I wanted to give away these place card holders because to me, they are symbolic. They symbolize being invited, being a part of something, being welcomed. My hope is that the people who support my family will read their place card and know that they will always have a place at my table.

Pinches,

Barb