In the past 12 years, I’ve only spent Thanksgiving at home with my family once.
The rest of the time, I’ve been in my college dorm, eating Pop Tarts and snacks from the gas station, or in a hotel, at a coach or teammate’s house, and in recent years, in California with my wife.
This experience has taught me that nothing compares to the warm love and presence of family. We often take Thanksgiving, and any holiday when the family gathers, for granted. I’ve developed a greater appreciation for time spent with family.
Being alone on holidays puts things into perspective. You realize how much your family completes you. I used to feel a sense of incompleteness when I spent holidays alone or with other families that weren’t mine.
Fortunately, I’ve only missed holidays with family because I was pursuing my dreams or engaging in other productive aspects of my life, rather than being in jail or having a falling out with my family.
Now that I have a wife and child, holidays are more enjoyable than ever. I’m at a stage in my life where I’m creating my own family to spend the holidays with, regardless of our location. Even if I can’t go home and spend every holiday with my entire family, I feel complete and happy to spend it with my own little family, which is truly wonderful.
However, holidays aren’t everything. They don’t make or break relationships (or at least they shouldn’t). Every moment spent with loved ones is like a holiday to me. I’m always grateful for them, and this Thanksgiving, I feel even more thankful.
FLY, BLACK BOY 