Mark Stoller and his wife, Andra, moved to Falcon with their family in 2007. Both are U.S. Air Force veterans and enjoy life with their daughters, extended family and adopted rescue dogs in Latigo. Mark is fortunate to have his wife and daughters as his muse for topics, people to meet and places to investigate.
Mark’s daughter, Ava, stepped in this month to write the column. Good luck in your next journey, Ava.
Gratitude shouldn’t be seasonal
By Ava Stoller
Every year around the Thanksgiving table, my family goes around sharing what we’re thankful for. Whenever we get to this point at family dinner, I internally groan. I know I’m thankful, but it’s hard to come up with something on the spot! More often than not, it’s a race to be the first to say, “I’m thankful for my family,” before someone else claims the obvious answer. Then comes the pause as everyone tries to think of something a little more intentional, something that shows we’ve actually stopped to consider what we’re grateful for.
It’s a familiar Thanksgiving ritual to reflect on our blessings. We talk about family, food, shelter, health and the people who make our lives better. Yet I’ve often wondered why gratitude receives so much attention in November when we have so much to appreciate throughout the year.
Thanksgiving celebrates family and togetherness, but not everyone has family nearby, a place to go or a table full of people waiting for them. I’m about to move away from my family, and one thing I’ve realized is that the holidays will look very different for me next year. Honestly, I worry about whether I’ll have people to spend them with. It’s made me think about how much a simple invitation can mean.
What if invitations to our homes or dinner tables extended beyond Thanksgiving and the holidays? Could a neighbor, coworker or someone spending the holidays alone be included? Not out of pity, but because there’s room for one more person.
Generosity is another theme that accompanies the holidays. Food drives are a familiar sight throughout November and December, but the needs they address don’t disappear when the decorations come down. Sometimes, our giving amounts to a half-hearted rummage through the pantry for extra canned food we won’t miss. I remember the panic of the last day of a school food drive when I realized I hadn’t brought anything in all week. With no time to go to the store, I grabbed whatever I could find in the back of our pantry that mom said was OK to take.
Fresh Start Center, a local food pantry serving the Falcon community year-round, lists high-need items on its website, including individually wrapped hygiene items, baking ingredients, condiments, spices and cereal. Perhaps this season, we can walk past the canned corn and donate some barbecue sauce instead.
Additionally, taking a moment to check a local food pantry’s current needs can make our donations more useful. And remembering those facing food insecurity in November can help us remain mindful of them in March or July, too.
One thing I love about the holidays is the quality time with others. There are gatherings at friends’ houses, office parties and family celebrations that bring us together. But by the end of December, we can feel burned out from trying to fit so much connection into just two months of the year.
What if the attentiveness we practice during the holidays continued into the quieter months? In January and beyond, we could keep seeking connection with people outside our own households. That could look like checking on a neighbor after a snowstorm, inviting someone over for an ordinary dinner or simply making time for a conversation instead of rushing through the day.
Perhaps next Thanksgiving, when my family gathers around the table, we won’t have to pause quite so long to think of what we’re thankful for. Not because we’ve found more creative answers, but because we’ve spent the year noticing the people who make our lives richer, the comforts we might otherwise take for granted and the neighbors whose lives look different from our own.
November gives us a beautiful reason to pause and reflect, but gratitude doesn’t have to follow a calendar.
