family

My family has a thanksgiving tradition before we all go through the line and fill up our plates with delicious thanksgiving fare we go around in a circle and say what we are thankful for. We used to have a rule that you couldn't repeat what someone else had said; it makes you think a little more. 

This year as we stood on my parent's lawn in the sunshine and beautiful weather, I was moved to tears by the things my cousins and aunts and uncles are thankful for: their spouses, their children and grandchildren, and the example and legacy that has been left to us all. 

A cousin was thankful for her husband who works hard so she can stay at home with their boys. Another cousin was thankful for her husband's sense of humor. Even the kiddos said that they were thankful for their cousins and the time that they get to spend playing together. 

I was so moved by the love that is so clearly evident in all of their relationships. I was so moved by the way our family has grown and changed over the years. I was moved because I could see my grandma's influence. I was moved because in a world that is consumed with so many other things, it was evident that the most important thing to everyone present was not something that could be bought. 

I am so thankful for a family who is so focused on the importance of family. I am so blessed to be a part of the family that I am in, and today they humbled me with the things they are thankful for.