what makes it

The crisp mountain air bites my cheeks while the morning sun works to warm them with its beaming rays.

There’s not a cloud to be seen and the glistening light of the sun is reflecting off the snow. As I drift up through forrests of pine trees there’s nothing to be heard but the smooth hum of the motor cranking to pull me to my destination. I swing my dagling legs over the 20 foot drop to the sparkling white powder beneath. The drone of the lift grows louder as I near my destination—the beginning of my descent.

The serene beauty of the majestic mountians makes me smile.

I push off the lift and my skis slip right through the snow propelling me down the hill.

A rush of excitement fills my chest as the slope in front of me plummets, sending me soaring down the side of the mountain--piles of snow flying as I carve from side to side. My burning legs beg me to stop but the thrill of the next drop compells me to speed ahead.

As I arrive again at the bottom of the slope I slip onto the lift again I am reminded by the beauty around me to thank God. The stunning landscape, the day off of school, my healed foot, and my mother who came with me are the first things that come to mind.

As I sit on that quiet lift I think about the holiday America is celebrating this week. Thanksgiving. What is Thanksgiving? Going to the grocery store to buy a bunch of food, then  getting up early to start cooking it, and finally spending all afternoon cleaning  the kitchen.

But it’s more than that of course. Its about family.

We pause to gather around the turkey and give thanks for the things we have,  

and the people in our lives.

Sitting there on the lift—all by myself I realize that I’ve never really appreciated Thankgiving.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved the holiday.

It represents so many good things to me, time off,

piles of good food to eat,

shopping and of course, family.

Thanksgiving is definitely a family holiday. Time to catch up with those who you love no matter what.

We all say that we’re thanful for our family,

but do we really grasp the meaning of it?

Every year for twenty one years I’ve thanked God for my family on Thanksgiving.

Spending the day with them by sleeping in, watching the Macy’s parade, helping mom with the cooking, and watching football with dad. I enjoyed it every year, but I always wanted more.

I’d wish for bigger family get togethers or that there would be an extravagant party to go to. My friends would take a ski trip in the mountians and I’d wish I could have a cool Thanksgiving like that.

Throughout years there have been times of turkey dinners with more family and times with less;

there have been  years of big fun parties and years of small quiet dinners;

and this year there was even a fun ski trip, but I finally realized what the key ingredient to Thanksgiving really is.  

Every year has been a blessing because of who I’ve spent it with.  

This is the year that I can finally appreciate what it means to be thankful for family.

Karalyn’s far away. She’s having fun living her new story in Florida, but I miss her. It’s so weird to have a person that you share everything with leave. I do so many things by myself now. I drive to school, go to work, and hang out with friends.  Having family around is something that I have taken for granted because my family has always been around. I used to think that Thanksgiving was about what you did, but that’s because I always had my family with me.

I never thought about what it might be like to do all of the traditional Thanksgiving things without family.

Meaningless.

The loved traditions would become empty and the exciting ski trips ordinary

 without family to share them with.

So,

as usual,

I am thankful for my family this year,

but now I appreciate

what it means.

"I thank God every time I remember you."

~Phil 1:3