All I knew was when my mom and brother Ron came back they always had a box full of food. The rest of us were home either sleeping or to busy goofing around to realize what was happening.
I was only about twelve years old. I was aware of my family’s financial situation, but never dwelled on it. My mom made sure we had a roof over our heads, we were fed, and that we had lots of love, what else did I need?
My mom is a problem solver. If there was something we needed she would find a way to make it happen. I learned at an early age the difference between a need and a want. A remote control car never took the place of having school clothes or food on the table in my home.
So every Thanksgiving (for about 3 years) my mom and brother Ron would take this drive, and every time they would come home with the same box of food. Being the curious kid that I was I asked my mom if I could tag along one year. I knew they weren’t going to the store because Shop Rite doesn’t give boxes of food just bags. She reluctantly said yes (there are advantages of being the youngest boy) and off we went.
After a little while we pulled up to a church, I still had no clue what was going on. I was left in the car while my mom and brother went inside. They came out with this huge box of food. In the box were a turkey, cooking ingredients, and even snacks. Finally it hit me; this is how we were getting the food for Thanksgiving.
Someone out of the kindness of their hearts had been making sure those families that didn’t have the money to buy food for the holidays never went hungry during them. As I helped pack the box into the car a thought came to my mind. I’d never get a chance to thank the person that provided this food for us. Whoever it was just helped a complete stranger out of the kindness of their hearts. There was nothing I can do in return, which included saying thank you.
Growing up we never celebrated holidays, but we would always happen to have turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving represented food to me until I went with my brother and mom that day to the church. That’s when it took on a completely different meaning.
It helped me put in perspective what I was really thankful for. I could be thankful that my favorite football team wins the game tonight or I could be thankful I have a roof over my head. I could be thankful that the day after thanksgiving flat screen TV s are half priced, or I could be thankful to have a family that loves me.
We say thanks without understanding what it is we’re actually thankful for. The holiday gets lost in all the frivolous things. The three years that we got a free turkey I was thankful for the anonymous families that thought about someone else instead of themselves.
Thanksgiving shouldn’t be a sad time, but it should be a time of reflection. It should provoke thought in all of us. When I wrote this blog it brought me right back to the day we picked the food up from the church. Enjoy the holiday, go crazy shopping the next day, but never lose sight of what you’re truly thankful for.
