I'm going with the cliche today. But then again, nothing else seemed appropriate.
I am a slave to to do lists. If there is something to be done, I feel compelled to work on it until I can check it off my list. And I usually do just that: work on a task at hand until I can check it off my list.
I entered Thanksgiving break with a pretty lengthy to do list. I had aspirations of grading all 150 paragraphs my students turned in last week. I wanted to finish an online class I have been procrastinating since July. I hoped to read the second half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
This morning, I woke up and timed my morning routine to end exactly as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began. I drank coffee wrapped in a blanket and realized that I could, in fact, take a break from the things on my to do list. I could enjoy the holiday without feeling bogged down by the unchecked boxes that generally loom over my head.
And so, it is with great thanksgiving that I sit here in my in-laws' family room on their cozy couch. It is with great thanksgiving that I keep switching my gaze between the football game and the snow falling outside. It is with great thanksgiving that I smell the Turkey permeated from its pan in the oven and anticipate the taste of mashed potatoes on my tongue.
Nothing says Thanksgiving like mashed potatoes.
Nothing says Thanksgiving like family.
I could go on and on about all the things I have to be thankful for, but for now, I'm just thankful to be exactly where I am. I'm thankful to be able to stop moving and recognize the blessing of it all.
Maybe I should start adding "take a break" to my to do lists. Maybe then I would remember to do it more often..
Happy Thanksgiving!
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