Our Thanksgiving was lovely. We had the usual menu: turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole, dressing, and some other yummy stuff. For dessert, my husband requested Key Lime Pie. So I made him this star-topped key lime pie. He’s a star. And he deserves whatever pie he wants.

 

 

It was delicious, but we were all so full we could barely eat it. What a day of bounty, abundance, plenty. We had a good time with family around the table. Look at these cool place cards our daughter made:

I like the idea of place cards. Besides fulfilling my OCD needs of knowing where everyone will be, I like the message they send.

Here you go. 

Here’s your spot.

It’s only for you.

You are special.

No one can fill this spot except for you!

 

If only we’d try hard to make others feel this way all the time when they’re with us.

It is a good day to be thankful. Today, we did not work hard. We did not waste time worrying. We had enough. We took time to work on a puzzle, to laugh together, to read the paper, and to watch a parade. We took time to be still.

1 Samuel 12:16

That verse is about some folks who did something dumb and were about to get in trouble for it. Which isn’t too far off from some days I’ve seen. But that’s not what it really meant to me today.

Today, on a day of Thanksgiving, my heart just saw these words:

Now stand still and see.

OK. I will. Seems to me that so much beauty and wonder is going on all around us. We just won’t stand still long enough to see. To pay attention. To listen. To keep from doing something dumb. To enjoy. To see a great thing.

My husband and I ended the day with a game of Scrabble. We played with our 7-year-old son, who had been waiting–seriously, for hours–to play the game with us. It just took us a while to get still enough to play it with him. Here’s the Thanksgiving board I spelled out before we played.

When we went around the Thanksgiving table to tell things we were thankful for, my daughter said, “this beautiful fall we’ve had.”

My son said, “BACON.”

I have to agree wholeheartedly with both of them.

And I am thankful for stillness.

Stand still.

Still.