A Thanksgiving Conversation

Every year at Thanksgiving dinner, my family starts a conversation with the same question. We go around the table and ask: what are you most thankful for?

Everyone is expected to participate and contribute. There is no "pass" to answering the question.

As a young girl in my booster seat, my answers usually involved extreme gratitude for my Barbies, the cranberry sauce, my cat – naturally, all of things that made my world so sweet and fun.

As the years went by, my answers shifted to being thankful for living in the same city as my family, for creating silly memories together, and for sustaining the traditions we have. The answers change over the years…because I do.

Despite these changes, Thanksgiving is greeted with the same, warm question. It would not be Thanksgiving without it. When we have guests, I revel in including them in this exchange of thoughts. What are they most thankful for?

With Thanksgiving arriving tomorrow, I am reflecting on the significance of asking our sacred six word question.  This beautiful ritual my family and I cherish is, in actuality, a very simple conversation.

This conversation allows us to check-in with ourselves and one another. It is a way to share how we've grown or changed and how our gratitude has shifted accordingly – from Barbies to creating memories. This conversation connects us.

What question can you ask to connect this year?

Perhaps: what are you most thankful for?