Thanksgiving

To My Butterball,

You are here.  Here are you.  I remember thinking last year at this time, when nobody but a few close friends and family even knew you were percolating, that I would have a 6 month old next year at this, my favorite time of the year.  It's amazing.

You are here and you are better than I ever could have imagined.  For that, I give thanks.

This year is going to be different.  We'll still have the same old dry turkey, too loud football, and tipsy spilling of family secrets (I will tell you about them when you're older - I have some gems), but you... you are the new addition.  It will be so fun. I am going to try to savor every morsel of you and this experience this holiday season.  We are so lucky, I know, and time passes too quickly.

In years to come, I hope you are able to appreciate Thanksgiving, with a deep love of family and self that stretches from here and expands further than time can tell.  The people make today what it is, the food just makes it extra tasty.  You know I love Thanksgiving and cooking, and we would have great fun if you also were curious about the perfect turkey temperature or delectable brussels sprouts recipes(they exist!), but more than anything, I just want you to want to learn and be curious about the world in whatever facet you so desire, today and always.  I would so love for you to find joy in strategizing with Daddy about football, watching reruns of Twilight Zone with Dad (my dad), or chatting to your cousins about their adventures in college or life.  I hope you can find your unique lens to appreciate Thanksgiving through.

I will do my best to help you become a person who finds it easy and rewarding to be reflective and appreciative today and all days by living my life that way, as best I can.  We love you so much.  This is the start of our first holiday season being a family of three and I am so thankful for today, and for you, and for this life we are living.  You are best.

Love,
Marmee

Dear Georgia,

On Thursday, 21 people who love you will come to your house. They'll be noisy and funny and pass you like a sack of hilarious jewels from person to person throughout the afternoon and evening. This will be your first Thanksgiving.

Next year, you'll eat sweet potatoes and chunks of turkey with your fat little hands. The year after, you'll be the littlest one at the kids' table with your cousins. I have to squint to see much more into the future than this. Will you be saying thanks for a brother or sister? Will you put on a tutu and dance for your guests, or will you hide in the drapes with a book? As the years pass, will you be in the kitchen, tasting the gravy with a critical eye, or will you be in the living room, starting a debate with your most opinionated kin?

I hope this day is always a happy day for you. Sometimes we grownups let the stress of entertaining or family hiccups overshadow what should be a day for feasting and gratitude. I hope that as you grow, you see us expressing gratitude for this life every day of the year. And I hope as you grow into adulthood, you can be grateful to us making this world a little better for you and your generation, not worse.

For now, I hope I take a moment with you on Thursday just to hold you in my arms and sniff your perfect baby head as I give thanks for you.

Love,

Mama