As I walked to Safeway today to pick up a couple of items I once again forgot to buy, I realized that Thanksgiving as a holiday does not mean that much to me. I wonder if it is because I am a "foreigner" to this country. We have Thanksgiving in Canada but it is just not the same. People do not make the big to-do there that they do here.

Since we do not have any Thanksgiving traditions from our childhood to reminise about with our kids, today is just about the food for us. And the shopping on Black Friday. I feel really shallow saying this but it is true!

And this year, the scary news about the economy makes me not even want to shop this year. I glanced at the ads but nothing more. I even sat down for a second look a few minutes ago and then tossed them aside.

That said, we did have a nice Thanksgiving. I felt like a heel shopping at Safeway (these people, to whom this holiday really means something, should be home with their families rather than ringing up my Pillsbury Grands and purple onion) but, I did enjoy the walk with the boys to and from the store. And dinner was really good. We had another family over whom we have known since we first moved to the States (they lived in Minnesota too before moving here about two years before we did).

Now that the day is (almost) over, we can start thinking about Christmas and I can get excited about that. I love decorating, going to church these weeks and planning Christmas dinner. I love the Christmas traditions that we've been able to pass along to my kids as well as starting new ones. For those things, I am very thankful.