When life as you know it grinds to a halt, whatever you’ve tuned out is now turned up to full volume. That is the way this year has played out for me on either end of the emotional spectrum. With Thanksgiving now upon us, I feel this urge to lean into what’s coming up the loudest, and in order to weave that into the holiday, I’ve come up with some new traditions to employ for the holiday weekend.

Share the love

Every year, wherever I am celebrating Thanksgiving, we will go around the table and name what we’re grateful for, and I absolutely love that tradition. The act and naming of gratitude has been a saving grace for me so many times this year as I’ve struggled to make sense of the way life looks for me personally, and on a community/national/global level.

Several years ago, during a beautiful birthday dinner with my siblings, my brother suggested that everyone say something they loved/valued about me, the birthday girl. It was such an act of love, and I’ve never forgotten how that made me feel. So I propose that this year we name what we love and value most about each other. Bring abundance to the table not only with food but with love and generosity of emotion.

Invest in your home

Whether you enjoy working on your home, or find it to be a chore, I offer you the chance to reframe the act. Our homes have become many things, not all of them positive, but take this weekend to gratefully tackle a project you know will bring you peace and joy. That may mean installing a new bookshelf, organizing your closet or framing family photos.

Invest in yourself

While surviving each day is often our loftiest goal, give yourself permission to take a few moments and decide on an action that will nurture a need or desire. This may mean committing to an exercise routine to increase your energy and well-being or purchasing a notebook to begin journaling. You may communicate to your significant other that you’ll need a couple of hours each weekend just to work on water color painting or maybe you’ll commit to self-love through daily affirmations. Whatever you decide, leave guilt off the menu.

Give back

Find a way to give back to your community, a family member or a friend this weekend. This may look like a heartfelt note for a friend who’s had your back during a particularly rough time or perhaps donating to a local food drive or giving to these charities to support COVID relief. This is also a great time to get your kids involved and ask them where they may want to be of service.

Educate yourself

On one of my local FB parent groups this week, there was a post about a couple of young children who were laughing and pointing at another child on the Autism spectrum. I was crushed for this kiddo, and it was also a reminder to me to educate my children on the diverse spectrum of human beings they will interact with over the course of their lives.

I found a program that followed a family with Autistic children and invited my son to watch it. We had a great discussion about neural differences and also the importance of kindness, respect and inclusion.

I invite you to educate yourself and/or your children/family members/friends on any topic that speaks to you and your curiosity. There are tons of wonderful documentaries out there, but also plenty of shorter age appropriate resources for whatever you decide to dig into.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to share stories, resources and musings with you all, and I would love to hear about your traditions and if you are inspired by any of the ideas above.

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving.

With love,

Steph

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