Giving Thanks

It seems almost inevitable at this time of year to list the things for which we would give thanks. I give thanks to God for some much needed rest this weekend - time spent with our family, as well as, spending some time continuing the task of organizing ourselves in our new home. I'm thankful for our health, our home, the food we can afford to put on our table and the opportunity to be in ministry with the good folks of Christ Church here in Erie. There are many things I'm thankful for - too many to list here, if I really spent some time listing them out in any detail.

One of the things I most like about Thanksgiving - besides the food of course - is the time to slow down, sit still, relax and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Let me go on record as saying I do not generally enjoy parades at all. And the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is not the most spectacular parade. However, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a treasured tradition from my childhood, and honestly, it would seem a little less like Thanksgiving if I didn't watch a goodly portion of it.

When I was a child, we slept in since we had no school, but my mother would always rouse us by 9:00 a.m. to watch the start of the parade on television. I remember anxiously watching for the balloons - Underdog, Popeye, Bullwinkle & Rocky the Flying Squirrel - among others, but those were always my favorites. I love watching and singing along to the Broadway musical songs that various groups would perform - some of them the actors from Broadway. And what would the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade be without the Radio City Hall Rockettes! Perfectly manicured, long-legged dancers who synchronize their movements with mesmerizing perfection! And for the grand finale, ending the parade and beginning the Christmas Season - Santa Clause! Wow - you can't get better than all that!

I can remember in the first few years of our marriage, I insisted on watching the parade. And if I would leave the room for any reason, Steve would often change the channel. When I came back into the room, I'd ask him, "Where's the parade?" His answer was often something like this - you weren't in the room, and it's only a parade. Only a parade! It's the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Just a parade - I don't think so!

I don't know what it is - but I love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And every year when I watch it, I go back a little in time each year, to when I was a child, sleepily emerging from my warm covers to the smell of turkey baking in the oven, our whole family gathered together at home, cuddled on the couch under one of the many afghans my mother crocheted, waiting for Santa Clause to appear in his magical sleigh. Maybe by watching it now, maybe life seems a little simpler for a few hours and all is right with the world.

I hope your Thanksgiving conjures up memories of simpler times and for a day or two, maybe, just maybe, you can enjoy simple living of being with your family, enjoying each other's company, good food and the abundance of God.

By God's Grace,

Michelle