carbonated joy

Thanksgiving is almost here.
I’m thankful for that!!
There’s nothing like a big thanksgiving celebration.
The smells…the sounds…the stories.
There are family members who always end up napping in the corner.
There is football or cornhole in the front yard.
There is a cousin who only eats pie.
There is life and laughter.
And THEN there is always the crazy uncle!!
It seems like everyone has one.
That crazy uncle who will inevitably say or do something embarrassing. He is unconventional and he is willing to do goofy things to entertain the inhabitants of the kids table. He just wants to have fun, but sometimes he is misunderstood.
I know, because I AM THAT GUY!!
I’m a crazy uncle!
I have been for over 25 years.
I’m the crazy uncle to 21 wonderful human beings!
It’s thanksgiving and as the designated crazy uncle, I feel compelled to rant a little.
This is going to be a completely different kind of thanksgiving this year.
Things could get ugly. (I’m okay with weird and crazy, I’m not okay with ugly).
We will all gather around the single most powerful piece of furniture in the room…the table.
It has the power to serve deliciousness, create conversations and birth stories.
There will be a temptation to turn our thanksgiving into a talk about the times in which we live. That would be a shame. There will be a tendency to turn our time together into talk about politics, rather than a celebration of the people in our lives.
As the crazy uncle, I say let’s just have some fun and give some thanks. Let’s focus on what we have been given instead of what we don’t have.
Let’s share stories, food, drink and football (go cowboys!!). But, let’s resist the urge to share our opinions if there’s a chance they might hurt or divide.
On Thursday, we come together, don’t let that bring us apart.
You see, the really crazy thing about thanksgiving…
It’s all about thanks!
There shouldn’t be any chest thumping or finger pointing.
Just hands open in gentle gratitude.
The posture of “whew!! It’s been a wild year, but here we are!! Pass the green bean casserole!”
We celebrate the beautiful, diverse belonging that we find at the table.
Our differences make us all the same.
We are going to be okay, the things that got us HERE, faith, hope and love, will take us THERE.
Let’s serve up grace like gravy.
Happy thanksgiving from this crazy uncle.