Not just today.

This is, presumably, the most thankful day of the year.

And I have a lot to be thankful for. A LOT. I don't have to look high or low, or even off to the side, to find reasons to rejoice.

I do, however, hate the whole "Let's go around the table and say what we are thankful for" tradition. (If you do this at your house, please do not invite me to Thanksgiving dinner. Thank you.) We never did it in our family, and I am so glad, because I was so painfully shy as a child that I think I would have foregone dinner sooner than speak aloud before my entire assembled family. Apart from putting everyone-- especially children-- on the spot, my thought is that such a tradition encourages superficiality, in a "Quick, think something up so that we can eat!" kind of way.

(I know, I know... I'm too young to be this cynical. Too late.)

So, it is not something we pursue in our home. And I don't intend to do so when we have children. But you know what we do? When we spot a reason to be thankful, we talk about it. Right then. Mostly these conversations are about people, because that is just how it works for us. And I think that is a good thing.

And when we do have conversations about thankfulness with our children, I expect them to happen on a daily (or almost-daily) basis. If not, then I think I will have missed out on a big part of parenting.