Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love spending time with my friends and family while enjoying a great meal together. I am very thankful for these things.
But the holidays do bring stress. A couple of years ago, I was feeling overwhelmed by the upcoming holiday. We were hosting a group of friends and I realized that one of my friends decided to bring champagne and we didn’t have enough champagne glasses. I left the office annoyed that I had to run one more errand to the store to pick up more glasses when I had lots of cleaning and cooking to do.
While I was walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago being stressed about this lack of stemware, a couple approached me. They said “All the food pantries are closed today – can you please help us.”
My champagne glasses didn’t seem so important. All these people wanted was a meal on their Thanksgiving – the same basic thing I wanted for Thanksgiving but failed to remember in my annoyance.
Working for Feeding America, I was able to make a couple of calls and find a pantry that was open that day. I used part of the champagne glass budget to get them into a cab to get there.
This time of year, many of us remember the “giving” part of Thanksgiving. This comes in many different ways but the most effective form is to tell the people around you. Remind them to give thanks and that 1 in 6 Americans may not be as fortunate to enjoy a great meal on Thanksgiving. Also, remind them that ending hunger in America will take everyone’s help.
Happy Thanksgiving.