Giving Thanks Everyday...

Woke yesterday morning to a beautiful fall Miami Beach day that makes it very easy to start a 7-mile run, especially the day before Thanksgiving as you smell hints of turkey, stuffing and fixings being prepared at the many hotels on ocean drive. The scents made me grateful that this last Sunday we had a family Thanksgiving before my family rushed off to North Carolina and Boston for the holidays.

That leaves my husband and me here solo for one of my absolute favorite holidays, of course because it is centered on food, gratitude and loved ones. I had been planning to cook a full meal for the two of us, but decided Tuesday that this year we would mix things up and go out for dinner.  At first I felt sad, but the morning run filled with thanksgiving aromas quickly reversed that emotion to joy.  And the day only got more wonderful and inspiring …

I had a salon date with my oldest friend since age 5, Tara. Accompanied by some champagne we primped and reminisced on years past and got caught up on current life. It was while I was left alone getting my nails done that I met a lovely woman who offered me a touching story of her life. She overheard me sharing that my husband and I were having a first together by going out for what I hoped would be a romantic meal at the Delano for Thanksgiving. Explaining that this was tough for me given my deep love for cooking and sharing food with others, she proceeded to say that we were doing the right thing. Trying to recreate moments with friends and family that are not present is not worth it. Yes the food may be the same and tasty, but the experience will fall short.  It made me smile …

She then proceeded to tell me that she has a “terrible illness”, one I had not heard of, but she compared it to Lupus (I know several women who are challenged by it, but continue to kick its ass each day!). She explained all that she had been through as a consequence since she was diagnosed at age 30.  Now in her late 70s, she is a lovely woman, inside and out, married for 54 years! And this is the part of the story causing tears to well up. She started by explaining how challenging it is for men to express their emotions and why they do what they do. While I understood I also was thinking it was a generalization, but who am I to say this to a woman who obviously has more wisdom and experience. She told of how her husband sold his thriving business and their home in Coral Gables to move her closer to her family in a condo that required less maintenance, as at age 30 her prognosis was death in the next 5 years. Yet here she is, fighting, resilient and as she stated: “determined” to continue living past her beloved husband well into her 70s.

She continued to preach that as partners in a relationship it is essential that one always offer adventure and that has been her role. He is the reliable partner that shows unconditional love at various stages of their life by making sacrifices and never needing to explain why he is doing what he is doing, and she follows, just as she takes him on regular adventures he otherwise would not embark upon.

And even after this lengthy recap of the story I continue to be left feeling an abundance of love and gratitude for my husband, family and beloved friends … and for the power of love, resiliency and determination.

It is a day of thanks, but isn’t every day? I wake to my beautiful four-legged dudes and a husband who may not always verbally express his adoration but shows it in so many ways. 

And I do as well this morning as I make us my childhood favorite recipe, my mother’s spicy sausage spinach pie and sip The Frank Family Rouge that Charles and I toasted on our wedding day.  

Missing all those that we love and hope that today includes some sense of adventure even if it’s just a simple twist like not cooking for Thanksgiving and spending sunset on a blanket drinking a delicious Zinfandel before dinner for 2 at Bianca.  My youngest brother Calvin recently sent me a postcard from his 3 month travels backpacking saying "Everyday I say to myself "I am in Thailand" and then I get chills of pure happiness.  Those chills are what I would describe as joy... And fortunately lately for me they happen with more frequency.  That is a wish I have for you today. So a toast to love and joy… For it is what makes us thankful for everything, without it what would there be?