Whatever Happened to Thanksgiving?

Remember when life was slower and easier? Remember when Halloween ended we started getting ready for Thanksgiving? Remember when there was no Black Friday? Remember when we took our time to settle into the coming of winter?

What happened to those days? Are you like I am and wish sometimes that we could turn back the hands of time and keep some things simple and less hectic?

Well here’s the great news…we can! We can’t turn back the clock and we can’t change the media hype…but we don’t have to buy into the hoopla that somehow Thanksgiving…the one day in our calendar set aside to give THANKS becomes a feeding frenzy for early shopping and total craziness.

Nope…we don’t have to do it!

Since moving to Franklin, Tennessee…I’ve slowly been going through my own metamorphosis and truthfully, most of it I wasn’t even aware of, until just recently.

One of the blessings of Franklin is that we have the best of all possible worlds. We have a city with all the amenities you could ever need, but we also have historic Downtown Franklin and a Main Street that is lined with small shops run by shopkeepers who work like crazy to keep everything fresh and creative. Side streets are lined with antique stores and coffee houses, and there is something so lovely about strolling in and out of these stores searching for the perfect unique gift for a dear friend or family member.

Fall in Franklin is magical…colors the likes of which I have never experienced in my life! Nature beckons me outdoors to soak it all in and I’m trying to imprint it in my brain so that when the dark days of winter arrive, I’ll remember that it won’t last forever.

This year, I’m vowing to not participate in the Christmas craze. I’m not decorating my home for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. Yes…I’m busy going to Christmas Open Houses and getting inspiration. And I’m  creating decorations that will adorn our home, but I’m not putting them up. The tree can wait. Everything waits when I slow down. We can’t nurture our souls or the spirit of the season when we’re caught up in the hype. It’s just not possible.

This year I’m shopping locally. This year I’m spending time in gratitude and love. This year I’m searching for something different…and you know what? It’s not easy. Media does NOT make this easy. Big box stores opening at 6pm on Thanksgiving night make you feel like if you don’t show up you’re somehow going to miss out! But what is it that we’re missing out on?

This year our Thanksgiving will be small…just the three of us and that has never happened before. But you know…I’m looking forward to it. My husband and I will take a hike even if we have to bundle up…the fire will burn…the turkey will cook…the table will be set with my grandmother’s china…candles will burn…and in some ways, it will be the same…just smaller.

I will miss my family – a lot…but I will also spend time loving them from afar.

This year…I’m starting where I am and I’m moving forward. This year, I’m spending more time with my gratitude journal and this year…I’m turning back the clock to simpler times when life wasn’t so complicated.

My favorite photo of Kaitlyn and me. Forever in my heart.

I didn’t move so things would be the same…but it’s so easy to do the same, isn’t it?

I moved for simpler. I moved for something different and it’s never too late to make a decision to do things differently.

Can we make a decision that it’s okay to do less but feel more? Can we decide that the hype is nothing more than hype and we don’t have to be a part of it?

What will you do differently this year? What’s on your gratitude list? I’d love for you to share it below.