Julia Sims: Thankful 365

I'm just going to go ahead and say it: I'll be thankful when Thanksgiving is over.

Now don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about. These holidays can be stressful and leave you frazzled like nobody's business!

There's the travel and inevitable gridlock. Then, it seems someone is always out of sorts or gets their feelings hurt. Or you have to do the table shuffle to make sure cousin Bob doesn't sit next your sister because let's face it, we've all got some kind of crazy going on in our family. Of course, you always lament the fact that there's no canned cranberry sauce on the table.. And finally there's the turkey hangover and the unwelcome holiday weight that comes with it!

Mike and I have talked before about our "dream" holiday. We've imagined staying home, using the day to volunteer at a local shelter, perhaps go to the movies and in general, just hanging out.

Don't get me wrong: I love my family dearly and love seeing them. That's why I choose to be thankful 365 days a year.

Each night I ask Will what he is thankful for in his life. Sometimes his answers warm my heart: I'm thankful for you and daddy - or - I'm thankful for my teachers. Other times the answers are more typical of a 9 year old: I'm thankful that you and daddy finally got me a Wii.

Honestly, it's not the answer I'm looking for, but the gratitude and the understanding that there is so much to be thankful for in our lives.

As for our "dream" holiday: I don't expect that to ever really happen. Instead I'm actually thankful we're fortunate enough to have the chaos and the gridlock and the craziness. (And maybe this year I'll just pack that canned cranberry sauce in my luggage and put it on the table myself!)

Julia Sims is the mom of a grade schooler and a former long-time WRAL-TV reporter. She now works for the city of Raleigh.