This year is our first year away from our extended families for Thanksgiving. I was worried, since we are just a family of three, that it wouldn't feel the same. It does feel a little different, a little less crazy, a little more simple, and a little more our normal pace. 

It's hard to know when to stop visiting family for holidays and start making your own traditions and plans. This year we were kind of forced into that decision by circumstance, but so far it's proving to not be so bad.

We are lucky this year we have some good friends coming over to join us for our dinner, I might not make the effort for the full dinner otherwise.

Zoe said something yesterday that really struck me. We were discussing what restaurants in our tiny town would be open today, and McDonald's came up. Zoe then said, " Thanksgiving is not about happy meals, it's about being thankful."

She was absolutely referring to the McD's actual Happy Meal, but the phrase made me stop and ponder in a different tense. It is not about making sure we make all the kinds of pie, or grandma's rolls, or dad's amazingly juicy turkey, but about gratitude. 

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!