This time of year makes me think of pumpkin pie and Black Friday shopping. For many years, we’ve had a pretty traditional Thanksgiving…traditional in my world. Sometimes we forget that not everyone does things the same way. While big meals with family & some crazy Black Friday shopping is traditional for me, I realize it’s not for everyone. Not everyone can do that or wants to. Not everyone has family to be with or the means to have a big meal. The long holiday break isn’t always a fun time. If you don’t have a loving family to be with or if you have to worry about eating at all, let alone a big meal, then this long weekend might be one of dread. I never realized that until my husband started working at the school. It has given me a whole new perspective & changed my idea of what to be thankful for. Add on a cancer diagnosis, battle and “win” & it certainly changed my ideas of thankfulness. 

We become aware of these things to be thankful for when they are challenged or taken away. I guarantee I wasn’t thankful to be able to walk until I broke my foot. I wasn’t thankful to be able to open a door until I was healing from surgery & radiation and such a simple task was painful. I wasn’t thankful enough for my husband until a friend of our lost hers in an accident. Perspectives change as our lives and experiences change. 

I’d rather spend time than money. I’d rather avoid negativity than feed on it. I’d rather challenge myself than assume this is “as good as it gets”.  So I will embrace new adventures & a break in tradition. I will spend Thanksgiving in an untraditional way for me, but amazing just the same. I’ll be surrounded by family & a few thousand other people. Instead of turkey from the oven, I’ll have turkey legs & pumpkin fudge in a theme park. And I will try to soak up all of the love I can, because there will be a lot. And there will be a lot to be thankful for. I’m beyond blessed with people who love me and people for me to love back. It’s all about perspective & I’ll choose the rose colored glasses version. It’s hard to believe that I want even aware of the cancer inside of me a year ago. So this year I will celebrate “I kicked cancer” in a big way & with lots of love. Cancer sucks is on our tshirts & we are having a blast!!