Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

Today is a day for good advice utilizing a compendium from past posts.

First, remember that Thanksgiving food has NO calories—so give thanks!

Next, good wishes from the Internet.

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Finally, a small offering to print out (just add crayons) that may provide you with at least ten minutes of peace. If your group includes multiple kids, or inner children, print enough for all and have a contest. Click to find larger versions for your party.

One more thing.

Christmas parties are just around the corner, so the more you farctate (look it up) today the less you can in December.

Tomorrow can be a day of thanks for a lot of people. It gives us time to pause and share good times with friends and family.

There are a lot of things I truly appreciate about the holiday.

I live pretty far from family, so it’s nice to come home, catch up and relax.

It can also be a time to remind myself of why I work and what I am grateful for.

I have been thinking about this concept of thanks for a while now as I try to further it within my life, both professionally and personally.

I work in sales and my life is directly affected by the actions of my clients. As a result there is much to be thankful for. My challenge now is how to convey that. I am also realizing the benefits of giving thanks.

As I consider the topic I find that when I give thanks it not only edifies me, it enhances the person being thanked as well.

It’s essentially a power source that keeps going and building. Have you ever been thanked for something in a genuine way? How did they make you feel? How hard would it be to do the same for another?

Meditation can be helpful and when I meditate I consider those I am thankful for and it immediately rejuvenates me. I feel more compassion, joy, and energy.

So as we head into the holiday, maybe look around and see where you can impact in a positive way.

It would be a nice change from the grind of the world… at least for one day.

Image credit: anjanettew

Today’s the day and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you enjoy every minute of it with people you adore and, since holiday calories don’t count, feel free to gobble ‘til you wobble. And…

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

That said, Christmas is just around the corner, so the more you farctate today the less you can in December.

From 2008…

I’m a bit ambivalent about Thanksgiving along with many other holidays, such as Mother’s Day. While I understand and even agree with the idea of honoring a certain attitude, it seems hypocritical when it’s done only on that day.

Sadly, many of the people most vocal about a holiday are the same people whose actions during the rest of the year belie their holiday attitudes.

That said, here are my suggestions regarding Thanksgiving.

No matter how bad things are in your corner of the world give thanks that you are alive to read this. As long as you’re breathing you have a shot at changing your circumstances or improving someone else’s.

Several years ago I had a terminally ill friend. Her final Thanksgiving act was to sign papers consigning all her useable body parts to an organ donor program; she died just a few days later.

Her action infuriated her family, but she had made sure they couldn’t stop her choice.

Which brings us to my second suggestion.

Remember the words of Plato, “Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle,” and follow the advice of Anne Herbert, “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” daily.

Get in the habit of doing one small, unplanned thing every day—drop a quarter in an about-to-expire meter; pick up a piece of litter; help someone across the street. Just think of the difference if everyone did just one random act every day.

Have a wonderful day tomorrow and remember this special request from your turkey friends.

From 2006. Food for thought this holiday (AKA Miki’s Rules to Live by 8)

Don’t judge who you were and what you did in the past based on who you are and what you know now.

Think about it.

Everybody knows that hindsight’s 20/20, but that doesn’t stop people from laying a coulda//shoulda/woulda trip on themselves.

Each of us is composed of multiple, past “me-s,” each a different, stand-alone version from the current one.

When you look at past actions (Why did I…) you need to first ask yourself if you made the best decision/action possible based on the information you had at the time in conjunction with the person you were at that time.

If, in fact, you did, then the you you-are-now has no right to judge, i.e., beat up on, the previous you for that decision.

This doesn’t mean that you need to condone everything—today’s you may decide that in the future you should do more research or whatever—but it does preclude you from taking your former self to task.

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Thanksgiving is a time when we’re supposed to be thankful, but exactly what you give thanks for is a very private matter—I have one friend who gives thanks for her family, another who gives thanks that her family is far, far away.

So, no matter your age, when giving thanks be sure to include all the past you-s, whether you love ’em or hate ’em, since their very existence guarantees that there will be many more in the future as you continue growing.

That’s right; all week. I’m taking the week off to get stuff done — some of which should have been done months ago.

Rather than leaving you with nothing to do (that’s a joke), I thought I’d provide a week of past Thanksgiving posts. Some are for fun, but, hopefully, others will prove thought-provoking.

Today’s is called Getting through an F Day.

Read other Golden Oldies here.

Did you know Thanksgiving is an F day?

There are five Fs that come immediately to mind, they are fun, family, friends, food and football.

Of those five only one comes close to being guaranteed good and that’s food, but even food isn’t a given. There was the year that my host’s two Siamese cats stole the turkey—dragged it off the platter, dropped it to the floor, dragged it across an Aubusson carpet and were on the way out one door when I entered another.

Football often depends on whether your team wins, although a good game, as opposed to a romp, can make the difference.

Friends are often a better bet than family since you can pick and choose, but that only works if you’re the host. One friend always invited two people he knew would ignite—one year it was an Arab and an Israeli just after the Six Day War. Talk about fireworks, more like bombs.

Then, of course, there is family. Family is family and blood may be thicker than water, but that doesn’t mean putting the family together in one room will always generate sweetness and light—too often there is a large dose of vinegar and sour grapes. It’s said that leopards don’t change their spots and neither do family members. If they are difficult or you can’t stand them 364 days of the years, they won’t change for the 365^th day.

Fun depends either on the first four or your ability to take a step back and laugh—at the food, the game, your friends, your family and, most of all, yourself.

Laughter is the balm that soothes a holiday rash; apply liberally and often.

Image credit: auntjojo on flickr

Remember; Thanksgiving food has NO calories—so give thanks!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I’ll see you all on Monday.

Just a note to say that I’m taking tomorrow off. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving and I’ll see you Monday

Thanksgiving posts are early this year because I’m planning to take the holiday off—all four days. I can’t wait. It’s not that I’m going anywhere, actually I plan to spend those four days doing stuff that I’ve put off for months and in a few cases years. If I manage to stay on plan I will really have something to celebrate come November 26.

Today’s quotes fall in two categories; the first is dedicated to those who serve on Wall Street and kindred souls who frequently forget what they have in their effort to have more; the second is just plain fun.

Just so there’s no mistake, I’m referring to the group what fits Horace’s comment, “Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon outlined the attitude perfectly when he said, “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”

Robert Flatt seconds that in his comment, “Thanksgiving like contentment is a learned attribute. The person who hasn’t learned to be content…lives with the delusion he deserves more or something better.”

Forward these quotes to anyone you know heading down that path; I doubt they will recognize themselves, but one can always hope.

Now for some fun.

Erma Bombeck provides the real reason for the name ‘Thanksgiving’ (I always wondered, but never knew for sure.) “What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?”

If you remember your school lessons they always show Indians bringing food to the first Thanksgiving, but Dylan Brody’s insight shows why it’s a good idea to listen to your elders, “You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, “Don’t feed them. If you feed them, they’ll never leave.”

And Irv Kupcine reminds us of the true nature of the-glass-is-half-full people, “An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.”

And on that note I’ll leave with a Thanksgiving rhyme from our old friend Anonymous,

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
and your pies take the prize,
and may your Thanksgiving dinner
stay off your thighs!

Flickr image credit: Kevin Tostado

I write these posts at least a day ahead, so they publish early for readers on the East Coast, and over the last six years I’ve rarely missed a day.

That said, I’m taking this Thanksgiving, i.e., Wednesday, off.

But if you really need a “Miki fix,” here are links to my favorite Thanksgiving posts of the past.

Getting Through an F Day

Life, Kindness and Thanksgiving Wishes

Food for Thought this Holiday

Be sure to read Friday’s post for a thought-provoking look at a nameless entrepreneur and tell me if you agree with him.

Flickr image credit: richcianci