Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for everything we have and hold dear. It is also a perfect time to create a family scrapbook entailing what everyone is most thankful for this past year.
Our world is ever-changing. With conflicts overseas, famine, homeliness, and poverty; we have so much to be grateful for in this country. Yes we have our problems, but at the end of the day we give thanks that our children are healthy and we live in a loving and caring home.
Creating a scrapbook is one way in which we can display our deepest thoughts and our truest feelings. Whether in prose or poetry, each family member can put words to paper without having to say it aloud. Then, the scrapbook can be passed around and read by each member of the family.
The kids may be thankful for a variety of things, including their new iPods which they received last Christmas. It doesn’t matter if it’s an inanimate object; it doesn’t even matter if sounds corny. What matters is that it is written down and therefore it is as good as signed.
In some cultures, Thanksgiving dinner is usually reserved for family members to announce what they are thankful for. While this is a lovely tradition, it is the written word that carries more weight because a great deal of thought has been applied.
As you read the scrapbook each year, you may find the words have additional meaning especially where the kids are concerned. As they grow, things which were important to them the year before no longer hold meaning; and thus they may begin to articulate the true meaning of family, brotherhood, and sisterhood and reflect those feelings in their words of thanks. As adults we, too, may find a change in our thought process especially as we grow older.
Giving thanks in writing and placing it in a family scrapbook is the best gift we can give to our family and each other. Words which may have never been spoken before now ring out with truth and love.
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