From my Family to Yours...

Happy Turkey Day!!!

I am sitting on the couch in my cute little Christmas decorated apartment watching people lip sync their way through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. You don't actually watch all of it, it just needs to be playing in the background.
Soon we will be headed to Ryan's house for a big thanksgiving day lunch. And after that, the Cowboys game, and then garage sale preparation. Yep. Black Friday? I'm having my own special Friday morning sale to make some Christmas shopping money.

I was at my parents house last night and it made me realize where I got it all from, the "selling my soul for a buck" trait, ok, maybe not my soul, but anything I can get my hands on. Mom is bringing out everything she can get her hands on. Waffle irons. Clothes. Boots. Hats. Plates. Angels. Pillows. Medicine. Medicine? Isn't that illegal?

"Steve, do you really need two irons? Can't we give one to Jenny to sell, she can probably get three dollars for that." She brings out more stuff.

"Mom, I got you that for Christmas last year!"

To which she replies, "Yeah but I don't need it, just go ahead and sell it, you can probably make $5 off of it."

Geez, I sure hope so, I paid thirty.

All I could think about was the feedback comment left last week by an avid blog reader, Will, who said he kept thinking I should put adds on my blog. That has to be better than cleaning my parents house out.

Nevertheless, it was pretty cute.
I thought...man, my parents love me so much they are willing to just give me stuff, all kinds of stuff, to help me have a good garage sale. Being home last night all the nostalgia of the years came swirling back through the house.

I am grateful for my family today. Cliche, but I really am. For my parents who taught me what it meant to care for other people, who taught me how to love, how to be passionate, how to chase a dream, how to be confident enough to have a big dream in the first place. Two people who taught me that taking care of others, empathy, generosity, and grace were the cornerstones of our faith and of our God. Who modeled that. For a mom that taught me how to have a good garage sale and how to make money out of anything, and a dad who laughed at our craziness and set up the tables for us and put the ad in the paper anyways. For two people that supported us, loved us, gave us plenty of hugs, taught us to be honest, expressive, creative, inventive, strong, and gentle at the same time. They were not perfect. One day you wake up and realize your parents are just people, who happened to grow up and have kids, but still, just people. Just kids. They were not and are not perfect parents. But they're pretty good. And last night as I was home watching them give me birthday presents and scurry around the house trying to find more things i could sale...I thought, I am pretty lucky.

I hope you enjoy the warmth and love of your family today. If you do not have that family, or your family brings more pain than pleasure, I hope that you have a family of friends, a church family, or another place where you find joy today.

From my family to yours...eat a lot of food today. Love a lot. Embrace joy. And be grateful. We are truly a blessed people. Let's celebrate as such.

Happy Thanksgiving.