Holiday Haste

Audio By Carbonatix

As we head into Thanksgiving week, it can be so easy to get overwhelmed with planning and preparing to celebrate the holiday that we miss the whole point—thankfulness! If you’ve been spending too much time figuring out who will be arriving at what time, who will be bringing which dish, and which two family members need to be separated for the sake of having a peaceful day, I want to encourage you to make sure that you also spend some time being grateful.

One of my son’s favorite stories to tell about me happened when I lost sight of what a holiday was actually about. This happened close to 20 years ago, so neither of us remember whether it was Thanksgiving or Christmas, but here’s what happened. Our immediate family was getting ready to leave for a big gathering, and we were running late. I was wrangling the kids into the van while my wife, Jane, was getting the food out of the oven and into travel containers. But it was taking her longer than I wanted it to, so I was getting antsy. I backed the van out of the garage and was ready to start driving at a moment’s notice. When she got into the van, I immediately closed the garage door and started backing down the driveway.

Like so often seems to happen, when you’re running late is when you forget something. Jane told me that there was something we needed in the house, so I stopped the van partway down the driveway, put it into park, and hit the garage door opener as I stepped out of the vehicle. I was in a hurry to get going, so I jogged the 25 feet from the van to the entry door. As we all know from experience, feeling frustrated while hurrying and being distracted is not a great combination. In my haste, I didn’t realize that the garage door wasn’t fully opened by the time I got to it. My forehead slammed into the door as it was on its path upward, and I ended up on the ground, putting a quick end to my hurry, frustration, and distractedness. Humiliation really has a way of keeping us from living in our own heads!

Learn from my mistake, and don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle that naturally happens around holidays that you fail to spend time reflecting on everything that you are thankful for. One of the ways that our family practices this is by doing something that many other families do to mark the day. We go around the table and have everybody say one thing that they are thankful for. It’s a very simple way of remembering what the day is all about. And it’s doable for everybody, from a 90-year-old grandparent all the way down to a 4-year-old grandkid.

If we don’t find a way to be intentional, Thanksgiving can end up being a flurry of activity as we go from one task to the next. We can be so focused on preparing the dish we’re famous for or getting to the next party on time that we miss the opportunity to stop and be grateful for the chance to spend a day with loved ones. Let’s make sure to spend time being thankful as we celebrate Thanksgiving, so we can end this year on the right note and win more often at home.