Talk turkey to me

gratitude gratitude gravy Nov 28, 2019

#GratitudeGRAVY day 14

Hello Lizzie:

For years I pretty much missed the point of Thanksgiving. Sad, but true. I'm the person who has literally lit my oven on fire while trying to broil bagels.

Let's just say that a holiday dedicated to cooking one big meal coupled with fear of family tension has never been high on my list of favorites.

Despite the Thanksgiving hits and misses we've had chez Larock, I've come to realize that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a celebration of the great FULLness* of life with some of the wonderful humans that are in my world. Flawed and funny, weird and wonderful, I give thanks for all of them.

When I first started gratitude gravy a few years ago, I stumbled upon this post from my friend, Kelsey Murphy. I think it nicely sums up the great FULL ness of a Thanksgiving celebration:

Soak up the Crazy

But what if this holiday you soaked up all the good crazy, and let go of the bad crazy. Think about it… let your family be humans. Imperfect and weird… inappropriate and odd… delightfully unique in only a way that THEY can be.

And just enjoy them. Laugh with them, appreciate them, be there in the moment with them… So have a glass of wine with your crazy uncle, tell jokes with your little cousin, hug your aunt a little tighter and remind her that she’s still got it.

Because your family - all of our families - are doing the best they can with the tools they have.

–Kelsey Murphy/Business Coach/Podcaster

This movie quote from Something's Gotta Give is one of our family's all-time favorites. I'm extremely grateful for my extended family's sense of humor. I love our inside jokes, our years of laughs and my dad, the birthday boy, is the funniest of them all!

Gratitude Practice #14
There's nothing to "do" in today's gratitude gravy. Play some gratitude ping pong, make that Thanksgiving TikTok, or tell everyone at the table specifically why you appreciate them. Just enjoy the heck out of this perfectly imperfect Thanksgiving.

Here's to the great FULL ness in your life and in your Thanksgiving—

Lizzie Larock

Coach & Creator of Gratitude GRAVY & The Life Feast

**The great FULLness of life is an expression from David Steindl-Rast, a Catholic Benedictine monk and friend of leading gratitude researcher, Dr. Robert Emmons. His diverse viewpoints and commitment to interfaith and scientific discussions show how much he values the great FULLness of it all.

PS If you're ready to faceplant into a plate of actual gravy, be thankful that SNL can make you laugh until your cheeks hurt: Here's there tip for today, the one thing that brings families together...

PS If you're sharing any of your gratitudes on social, please use #gratitudegravy. You can also share in the Facebook group. Tag me or follow along on Instagram. Please share your gratitude ping pong game photos or any other gratitude game ideas!

PPS GratiDAD: This year, Thanksgiving also happens to fall on my dad's 77th birthday. There's so much I have to be grateful for in my relationship with my Dad. I love how he can make us laugh about just about anything. I love that you can ask him a question on any imaginable topic and he usually knows the answer. I am grateful that our dog loves to howl along with him. I love how smart, kind and generous he is. And how whenever I have needed his advice or his help, he'sdropped everything to be present and be there for me. Happy birthday, Dad!

Joining late? Need a reminder? No worries!

I'm grateful you're here. Rather than clog your in-box, here are the previous challenges. Catch up on old ones or jump in wherever. There are no rules for #gratitudegravy - just fun! Please feel free to forward to a friend or share the sign-up page. Anyone can join the free gratitude gravy challenge at any time.

Day 1---> Don't let your gratitude be bland (get the most out of gratitude)
Day 2---> Look for the good (3 good things)
Day 3---> The GREATful Outdoors
Day 4---> How to make a grATTITUDE adjustment at work
Day 5 --> It's gratiTWOSDAY (a 2-minute practice with big health benefits)
Day 6 --> The Grateful Bed - the practice that helps you sleep longer
Day 7 --> Give that thanks away - the case for thanking a stranger
Day 8 --> Love on the Little Things - write a gratiku in 2!
Day 9 --> Gamify your gratitude (read before Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving)
Day 10 -> Gratitude goes Prime Time (10 ways to practice long past leftovers)
Day 11 -> Grateful grace and the gratitude gravy chain
Day 12 -> What to do when you feel ungrateful
Day 13 -> The gratitude visit