On this Thanksgiving afternoon, I am happily trapped in front of a huge tv with non-stop football and a crowd of avid fans...my family. How this happened to one who is so historically averse to football is easily explained. My sons-in-law are fans, my 7 and 9 year old grandsons are fanatics, my daughter's partner is a big football follower. So, Betsy and I are in a tiny minority. But I know that soon the tv will be turned off and we will share Thanksgiving dinner with my brother and his family. Since we don't all see each other for long periods of time, this week has been precious to all of us. We have been to see the ducks at the Peabody (twice!), we've had Memphis barbeque (none better), we posed the kids in front of Sun Studio, drove down to Oxford to see the Grove at Ole Miss and Faulkner's home, and lavished attention on the grandkids. So, sitting through football is not too much of a sacrifice for all these gifts. I am truly thankful.
In a world full of conflict and uncertainty, we have much to be thankful for: the gifts of family, the beauty of nature that surrounds us from grand canyons to tiny leaves of intense color, music that lifts our spirits and calms them as well, and loved ones living and gone. For all these and much more, we give thanks.