Thanksgiving and the holidays are such a hard time of year it seems. It puts so much stress on having the perfect holiday, when there is no such thing. The A seems to pick this time of year to go on more binges and more excuses for holiday drinking. It's got to the point that holidays are not as enjoyable for me anymore because of years of the alcoholics drinking. Just for me, just for today I like to dwell on "natures thanksgiving" Ronald Barber wrote a poem that describes this well:

Thankgiving is a wonderful time of year.
Turkey and dressing and corn on the ear.
Sunflowers growing and fall is in the air.
soon the grass will die and the ground will be bare.

Cooler weather is coming and will kill the rose
and old Jack Frost will bite your nose;
Walnuts and leaves will fall from the tree,
Colors of autumn are something to see.

Squirrels gathering nuts to last the winter through
No animal is idle with nothing to do.
Geese and ducks and birds flying south.
Trying to find food is worse than drought.

Hibernating animals crawl in their dens.
People dressing their roosters and dressing their hens.
Farmers gathering their crops, before cold wind blows.
Picking at one time four, six and eight rows.

While we clean the machinery and clean the barn
Mama's in the house making a sweater of yarn.
Repairs to be made for the cold winter time.
Ground to be tilled and to put down lime.

Then the cold wind comes it starts to snow,
Winter time is here I want yu to know
That Spring will come again next year,
Once again the joyful sounds we will hear.

This poem doesn't remind me of the bustling craziness of the holiday season. It reminds me of a slower time when life was more simple and as we in al-anon say, Keep it Simple works for me.

Java