Thanksgiving Wisdom

A year ago or two, Gail Partin shared this. I thought it was wonderful. This is a good time of year to bring it back out:

Was reading in the GOOD BOOK and I came across this passage..

And it came to pass that it was decreed that all the women of the land should be taxed to the limits of their physical and emotional endurance in preparation for the season of Chaos. And this decree was made as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey had been cleared from the table and all the leftovers stored in every available Tupperware container. And all the women went from their homes to prepare for the ordeal, which began with The Biggest Shopping Day and continued until K-Mart closed at 6 pm on New Year's Eve.

And they also went unto their homes, there to face the boxes ofdecorations, and the cookie recipes with the chocolate smudges, and the leftover cards with envelopes that don't fit, and the shopping lists, and the family holiday picture, and the tangled lights that worked last year but now refuse to light on one side, and the instructions reading "some assembly required."

And there were also other women, and they were running to and fro, shopping and baking and wrapping and decorating and cleaning and worrying and fretting and fussing and spending more than they had in their goatskin handbags.

And lo, the spirit of MasterCard appeared unto them through the miracle of direct mail and said, "Be not afraid, for in December, charge what you will, and remember you have all next year to pay!"

And there was much rejoicing because of the good news.

And the children were also getting into the spirit of Chaos by adding to the confusion with their cries of "I Need, I Want, Get Me!" and "But All The Other Kids Are Getting One!"

And on TV and in the shopping malls, the children's baser instincts were being reinforced with the message that it is more blessed to receive and still more blessed to receive MORE.

And there were husbands also, abiding in their homes keeping watch over their football games.

And so it was that as the women were stringing out their lights and their credit accounts, they were filled with disbelief for it was reported that there were those among them who were not joining in the spirit of Chaos. It was said that these women had shopped for their presents during the July sales, and did their baking in October so that their freezers were full unto bursting, and mailed their cards in November, and picked up gift wrap half-price last January.

And the women wept and tore their hair, and after they let Calgon take them away, they came joyful to the knowledge that they could not do it all in eighteen days, or even twenty-five.

And, Yea, they didn't have to.

They realized that one more string of lights was one too many, and that the PTA Cookie Exchange would go on without them, and that the kids actually preferred CoolWhip to the real thing, anyway.

And the women put down their burdens, and there was much rejoicing throughout the land.

And the women were peaceful and rested and full of joy.

They had time to spend with their families and friends and neighbors. They had energy to read to their children and sing around the piano. They had money to give to the poor. And they all talked of a change in their lives when they had stopped following the decree to join the Chaos and had begun instead to celebrate.

And as they spoke, their faces shone with the light of love, for it was said they had found the true meaning of the season.

Read this and Weep