Kindness and Thanksgiving

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
~ Oprah Winfrey

Thanksgiving is about counting our blessings and being grateful.  It is also about making an effort -- and that's where the kindness kicks in.  Making or contributing to a Thanksgiving meal takes effort and so does attending a celebration.  But sometimes, there is even more effort involved.  One of my dearest friends hosted a Thanksgiving celebration even though he was not feeling well.  When I asked him how he was doing, he said, "more or less, but only thankful today."  Another friend -- whose husband has been ill and only recently discharged from the hospital -- took a dish to another friend's house even though she would not be attending the dinner.  Several other people I know traveled farther than they would have liked to be with family.  And then of course there is the kindness of not letting little things bother us (or at least not letting on that they do), so that we can get along with family and even others.  All that kindness makes for some pretty special Thanksgivings.