Happy Thanksgiving!

The United States was the first nation to officially set aside a day to give thanks. It has remained blessedly untarnished, if somewhat overlooked, at least in comparison to other holidays. Indeed, it sometimes seems as if we're in such a hurry to get to Christmas, we pass by Thanksgiving altogether. It becomes an excuse for parades, football and food, the first day of a four-day weekend for many, and a moment of sanity before the start of Black Friday.

Well, it's true that Thanksgiving is all these things. It is, however, also a time for us to take a moment and reflect on the many things for which we can be thankful. No matter our state in life, the challenges we face, or the difficulties we encounter, it is a rare person who cannot find someone in even more dire straits. We have all been given blessings, great and small, and it is only the artificial urgency with which we have infused our lives that causes us to overlook these blessings.

So sometime today, perhaps between the turkey and the pie, or at halftime of the Lions game (if you've been able to make it that far), stop for a minute and look around you at all you have, and offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the One who made it all possible. (And we don't mean the president-elect, either!)

On behalf of Mitchell and Judie, of Bobby and Steve and Kristen and Drew, we wish you - our friends, our loyal Hadleybloggers, and those of you who happen to stop by - the happiest and most blessed of Thanksgiving Days. Don't eat too much today, don't shop too much tomorrow - and enjoy every moment of it!