Dear Kid,

Happy Small Business Saturday!

Of all the faux holidays (many of which I love) this may be my favorite—at least when I put my grown-up hat on (which admittedly isn’t all that often).

I love that in an age of huge corporate organizations (many of which I love), there is time specifically to “thank” (and by “thank” I mean shop) small, local businesses.

Also, it’s (I just made this up) Turkey Soup Day. The first round of leftovers is over, and we’re on to soup-mode.

Soup is comforting. Soup is fortifying. Soup is healing. Soup is medicinal. Soup is warm. Soup is…soup. There have been books written about soup (quick, name two not including recipe books).

Love, Mom

Stone Soup by Ann Mcgovern

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Add more Soup books in the comments

Dear Kid,

Nine Things That Suck In My Life Right Now:

1. Geography. As in living farther away to friends and family than I’d like.
2. Beam Me Up Scotty. As in we can’t be teleported to the aforementioned friends and family.
3. Elves. As in they keep not showing up to clean the house.
4. Time. As in I need more than 24 hours in a day.
5. Time travel. As in we don’t have it and I think it would be really interesting.
6. Self-driving cars. As in it would be great to get things accomplished while the car drives me wherever I need to go.
7. Self-driving helicopters (that I can afford). See above. Only faster. And more George-Jetson-y.
8. Magic. As in there are several people who would improve my life if they were turned into frogs. Also, it would be really nice to get a coffee refill without having to get up.
9. Grey hair. As in I have too much of it. Fortunately, I also have the magic potion to make it go away.

I guess if these are the worst things in my life, I have a lot to be thankful for.

Happy Day After Thanksgiving.

Love, Mom

Happy Thanksgiving

Planning for Thanksgiving Means Lots of Food Questions | What Do You Think?

Puppy Conversations | Thanksgiving Food and Staying Healthy 

We’re Heading to Thanksgiving and a Lot of Food

The Great Makeup Rebellion Post Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving Weekend is Ending

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

Puppy Conversations | Happy Thanksgiving Puppy!

Weird Thanksgiving Food Pizza and Talking Turkeys

PreThanksgiving Saturday and Hello World Day

Puppy Conversations | Puppy Discusses Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving | 12 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Turkeys

Weird Thanksgiving Facts

Pumpkin Muffins and Finishing Projects

Three Ways to Be Thankful Even If You’re Not Really Feeling Thankful

Pumpkin Muffins, Comedy, and Things Not To Buy–Ever

Dear Kid,

Hope everyone gets to spend some time to rest, relax, and enjoy the holiday. (And help with the clean up.)

I love it when a holiday comes together. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Mom

Planning for Thanksgiving Means Lots of Food Questions | What Do You Think?

Puppy Conversations | Thanksgiving Food and Staying Healthy 

We’re Heading to Thanksgiving and a Lot of Food

The Great Makeup Rebellion Post Thanksgiving 2015

Thanksgiving Weekend is Ending

Happy Day After Thanksgiving

Puppy Conversations | Happy Thanksgiving Puppy!

Weird Thanksgiving Food Pizza and Talking Turkeys

PreThanksgiving Saturday and Hello World Day

Puppy Conversations | Puppy Discusses Thanksgiving Leftovers

Happy Thanksgiving | 12 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Turkeys

Weird Thanksgiving Facts

Pumpkin Muffins and Finishing Projects

Three Ways to Be Thankful Even If You’re Not Really Feeling Thankful

Pumpkin Muffins, Comedy, and Things Not To Buy–Ever

Dear Kid,

It’s almost turkey time!

Which means it’s time to think about food. And that means lots of questions.

Turkey? Absolutely. That one’s easy.

Potatoes? Of course. But which kind? Sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes? And if sweet potatoes, with marshmallows or pecan streusel?

Cranberry sauce? Yes, but smooth or chunky?

Stuffing? Well, duh. My fave. No real questions here because I’m making it with corn bread and lots of veggies and without sausage because me.

Gravy? Probably. Hoping to make it without icky lumps or a flour aftertaste.

Rolls? Some kind of bread. Unless we decide we have too many carbs. But it’s Thanksgiving, so….what the heck.

Corn pudding? I love corn pudding, but since we’re having corn bread based stuffing maybe not.

Salad? Quite possibly. If for no other reason than it will be nice to have salad already made on the day after Thanksgiving.

Veggies? Yes. Because we love veggies. And because that will alleviate all the guilt around dessert.

Dessert? Is that even a real question? Of course!!! It’s practically the law, right? But what kind? Pumpkin pie? No, I think I’ll put some pumpkin in with the sweet potatoes. What about something chocolate? Love chocolate. But tradition is more apple-y. I’m thinking my favorite apple crumble sort of pie thing. (It really needs a better name.)

Beverages? Water, beer, wine, Diet Coke, Diet Sprite Cranberry (yep, fall fave), coffee, tea. Did I miss anything?

Football? But of course!

And the most important part? Family and friends.

I can’t wait.

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

It’s that time again. And by “that time” I of course mean pumpkin muffin baking time.

Not just the batch I sent to you. This morning I already made another entire batch. And for clarity’s sake, each batch makes a LOT of pumpkin muffins.

In case you’re wondering, it takes approximately 1,000 steps to make a batch of pumpkin muffins in our kitchen. Seems like it should be more. Seems like just watching the muffins sit there and not eating more than one or two (ok, three) should be worth bonus points on the fat burning scale.

It’s also a Day of Getting Things Done. I hope. I’ve already cleaned one drawer of the refrigerator. I have high hopes of actually finishing a project or two today.

Finishing is not one of my great skills in life. I am a certified pro at Project Conceiving and a highly skilled amateur (possibly even semi-pro) at Project Beginning. Finishing? Not so much. Heard of it. Rarely experience it.

Sometimes, Dad will finish a project for me (especially if it’s an outdoor project). We’re a good match like that. Sometimes (especially if it’s an indoor project), he’ll simply ignore the unfinishedness. Sometimes, he’ll point out the unfinishedness (that doesn’t go well).

But today, I have high hopes for accomplishment. Yes, indeedy. And I’m going to finish the refrigerator right after I finish this. And make stuffing for Thanksgiving. And run a few errands. And…

Love, Mom

Dear Kid,

“Be sure to say ‘thank you.’”

Parents say this all the time. We remind our kids to say thank you, and they robotically spit out the words.

“Thank you” ceases to be thankful and instead becomes part of the rehearsed rhetoric that makes life more pleasant. “Good morning.” “How are you today?” “Thank you.” Hollow fillers that are necessary but not meaningful.

It’s hard to feel thankful on command. It’s probably impossible to feel thankful on command.

On the other hand, it’s important to try.

In between the football and the sweet potatoes, it’s important to remember the things we are thankful for.

So how do we feel thankful on demand?

1. Breathe. Take a moment. Thankfulness doesn’t rush. Thankful needs a calm space.
2. Practice. We’ve got a week until Thanksgiving. Take a moment or two each day to think about things you’re thankful for. Like most things, being thankful gets easier with practice.
3. Say the words. Sometimes we’re not ready to feel thankful. That’s ok—no one can mandate what you feel. But don’t use that as an excuse to stay silent. Saying thank you can be important for the people you’re talking to. And sometimes, just saying “thank you” can make you feel more thankful.

Love, Mom