Thanksgiving is not the happiest time for me, no holiday is anymore. Ever since I lost my mom, the holidays have lost a lot of their sweetness because one very important person is no longer sharing them with me. The empty seat at the table never gets easier to look at, especially at Thanksgiving. It is the day that I am reminded of all of the wonderful things I am grateful to have, but something will always be missing. Thanksgiving in college has been particularly hard for me, as all of my friends can’t wait to go home to their parents, but a part of me dreads the feeling of going home. I get so upset about spending another Thanksgiving without my mom, I forget to be thankful that I get to spend another Thanksgiving with my dad.

I am so thankful for my dad. If you know me, you know I am always telling you something funny he did, an email he sent or a video of the cat he sent to my sister and me. He is a funny guy. I forget how awesome he is sometimes, but I am quickly reminded as soon as I see him. This year, Thanksgiving was different. When I walked through the door, my dad was in the kitchen with the music on, recipes out, and ready for happy hour and cooking with me. He knows the difficulty that comes with holidays, and I could tell that he wanted to make the most out of Thanksgiving. His small acts of consideration set him apart from any other dad I know, and I am so thankful he is mine. He went out of his way to make home a little sweeter, Thanksgiving a little better, and my heart a little fuller. I felt like a little girl again and realized that this is what it is all about.

It is easy to get upset about who is no longer around for the holidays, trust me, I understand. But it took me until now to appreciate who IS around at the holidays. While life gives us reasons to be upset, it also gives us many reasons to stop and feel God’s blessings in their fullness. I feel like I give my dad the short end of the stick a lot, but he is worth so much more. He is the most supportive person I know, he is kind, he would do anything for anyone, and he does. He goes out of his way to make sure I know how important I am to him and how proud he is of me, and to make sure that my life is as good as it can possibly be.

My dad has taught me to live for today. He has shown me that even though we go through tough times, we get through them together. He reminds me that there are people out there with nothing, that I am blessed, and most of all, he has taught me to be thankful for what I have. I'm thankful for you, Dad.