Gratitude: Fall Veggie Share Week #5 – 11/22/22

Thanksgiving is complicated holiday for me. The cultural erasure that comes with the traditional American Thanksgiving story is incredibly problematic.

My 7 year old came home last night, very excited to tell me about the story of Thanksgiving. I listened with excitement and patience. I was relieved (and proud!) that it was my elder children who jumped in and told her all the ways they understood the story she told to be wrong, incomplete, a distortion of First People’s experiences and history. 

At the same time, our American culture embraces Thanksgiving as a time of thanks and gratitude. And while I think it’s a little messed up that we are taught to celebrate this thankfulness around the history of demise of another culture, I also feel that the practice of sharing food and expressing gratitude with loved ones is never a bad idea.

Thanksgiving or not, I am constantly trying to figure out how to incorporate gratitude and thankfulness as a practice, both for myself and with my children. I go through phases – asking about what the kids are grateful for during bedtime routines. Or currently, we are sharing something we are grateful for every night at dinner. Or sometimes we say a prayer.  I bought a book years back with secular prayers (as I am not super religious in a conventional way), and today I’ll share with you the one we use at our dinner table when Mom is in a prayer phase.

Thank you for the wind and rain,
sun and pleasant weather.
Thank you for this our food,
and that we are together. 

Whether it’s a practice, a phase, or just a Thanksgiving thing for you – I hope you have things to be grateful for during this holiday week.

We are thankful for you and all the ways you support our farm, community, and family.  

Farmer Cassie