Written by Ben Cox – When the word Thanksgiving comes to mind, often times it is associated with the sights, smells and flavors of a delicious holiday meal, prepared by and for loved ones.

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For me, it means home. The feeling of being with the people in your life that matter. That shoulders relaxed, head back on the recliner, football on tv and food in my belly feeling that can only be described as “contentment”.

I’m somewhat of a picky eater, so the food aspect of it has never been a particularly huge thing for me. That being said though, there are certain dishes that will always define the day for me.

My maternal grandmother used to make what we called “Grammommy Rolls”. Yeast dough spooned into HEAVILY greased muffin tins and baked. The flavor will transport me to childhood faster than the flashback scene in the movie Ratatouille.

That, and Ding Dong cake. Oh, boy, this is some HEAVY carb loading! Chocolate cake baked in round pans then sliced down the middle to create several thin layers, with homemade cream filling in between every one and then totally covered in fudge icing. (I need to call my dentist just describing this thing!)

There will always be experience memories, as well. Like sitting around an ancient kitchen table watching Grammommy prepare a meal for the army they called a family in the tiny, cramped little kitchen of a house designed for soldiers coming home from WW2, one of whom was my grandfather.

Listening to my parents talk to their brothers and sisters in the other room while I played with my cousins in the basement or backyard.

Warm, and fond memories can sometimes is shadowed by loss and tragedy. Those days of my childhood can not be recaptured, and I have hardly seen that side of my family since my mother passed away 10 years ago. I do plan to rectify that, just gotta get the time to do so. (I’m sure that sounds familiar to most of us.)

But, I am thankful for those memories, because the times I had creating them shaped who I became as a person. My life is richer for the memories and experiences that brought me to this point in my life.

I have a beautiful wife and daughter, I am employed, I have a roof over my head and clothes on my back.

And my wife has been perfecting her buttermilk pie recipe for the last week, so I have been a willing taste tester for her. (That alone is worth a prayer of gratitude, lemme tell ya!)

It’s easy to focus on the things we’d rather be doing, or places in life we would rather be. It’s harder but much more meaningful, though, to take a good honest look at ourselves and truly give thanks for the things we do have, however tiny they may seem.

So, this week, take a second or two to look at the things in your life that are good. That have meaning. That give your life depth. It may take some effort and hard searching, but there are always things to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you for reading this.

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