I’m pretty sure after Halloween, everyone seems to be more interested in Christmas.
What happened to Thanksgiving?! Do we not like giving thanks? The hot, smokin’ turkey on the middle of the table? Pumpkin Pie?!
Hey, I love Christmas as much as the next person, and I sure love giving and getting gifts, but I personally think one of the greatest gifts people can give is giving thanks.
Small words and small gestures can seriously go a LONG way.
To be absolutely honest, this past week was torture for me. I was scheduled to work 33 hours (not including my other jobs at church, teaching lessons, and teaching beginner strings classes) and my day off THIS week isn’t till Saturday. So in other words, I’m basically working two weeks straight UNTIL this Saturday. Yipee.
So granted, my spirits aren’t exactly chipper, nor was I in the festive spirit once Halloween came around. But here comes that small gracious moment of a small gesture. In my whole 23 years of life, I have never carved a pumpkin. My mother was insistent that Halloween was a holiday from the devil, so even carving pumpkins could be portrayed as sinful. (Yes, believe me, I know she’s crazy.) So carving pumpkins was left out in my induction towards adulthood.
I began the past week with a positive mind, knowing that work would literally destroy me, but every time I passed the grocery store on my way to work, the lonely pumpkin outside the front door began haunting me slowly.
Saturday FINALLY arrived, and as I flew out the double doors out of work and into the luscious cold breeze after a rainstorm (and yes! Southern California finally got RAIN), I knew I wanted to do something different that day. My boyfriend had texted me after work and said he wanted to meet up. Well, I certainly wasn’t going to object to that and as soon as he arrived at my place, we went straight to Ralph’s.
On a side note, I love my boyfriend, I truly do. Even though I have a hard time saying it every day, I honestly don’t mind the fact that we are serious homebodies and prefer to watch Netflix than go out, so the fact that we were even stepping outside is a HUGE thing for us.
So back at Ralph’s, that lurking box of pumpkins was at the front door again, and after taking a quick glance at it, the small gesture of kindness came in a moment. Before I knew it, that pumpkin was in the grocery cart, along with a festive scented candle and my boyfriend swiped his debit card. I couldn’t believe I was going to randomly carve my first pumpkin!
I know it’s a bit silly, but honestly, it was the best thing that happened to me last week. It was such a breather and a relaxer to just take that moment to be a kid! That small act of kindness is what brought me into this week, knowing that I’ll always have things to look forward to, no matter how big or small.
So if you’re going into that long week of work, keep your chin up! The sun will shine after the rain…even if the rain has been going for a long time above my head…either way, let’s try being more thankful this year, and not forget that lonely turkey that’s coming up at the end of this month.
~Boots
P.S. I ended up carving Totoro (the picture above), if you don’t know who this loveable creature is, I suggest that you look him up IMMEDIATELY. (:
Boots814 