This post is brought to you by Lincoln Financial Group®. All opinions and ideas are 100% mine. Lincoln Financial Group would like you to enjoy the holidays and remember to be your own Chief Life Officer®. Read this original full article on their site HERE.
24 years ago three very small girls stood on the front porch of their grandparent’s home, eyes eagerly scanning the road for their daddy’s car. It was Thanksgiving Day, and they were very proud of the Pilgrim and Native American Indian costumes that they had made for the occasion using old sheets and permanent markers. Today was a day of celebration: after months in the hospital their mother was finally coming home.
I do not have a great memory, but I do have a vivid memory of that morning. I was 8 years old at the time and my younger sisters and I had been living with our grandparents while my mother endured a bone marrow transplant to try to fight off her breast cancer. I remember my father helping her from the car on that cold Colorado morning. We jumped up and down on the porch as my frail mother beamed at us from behind her hospital mask.
Ever since that Thanksgiving so long ago, this holiday has held a special place in my heart. Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday surrounded with hustle and bustle, a month worth of parties and events, and enough gift buying to make your head spin. Thanksgiving is simply about family and gratitude, and I am grateful most of all during this time of year for the marvelous legacy that my mother left behind.
My mother’s thirteen year battle with breast cancer ended 13 years after that happy Thanksgiving morning, and in the time that we had with her our lives were full of joy, love, and tradition. She was a great lover of holidays and always made them special. Each and every one came with one of her creative family traditions, and for Thanksgiving we sat down each year and made gratitude hand turkeys. My sisters and I have all adopted this Thanksgiving tradition in our own families. We do it each year as a way to count our blessings and reminisce about our mother so that our children will have an idea of what a wonderful legacy she left for all of us.
Doing this Thanksgiving tradition with your own family is simple. All you need is paper, pens, and crayons. We have chosen to compile our gratitude hand turkeys into a binder so that we can look back on them each year. It is always enjoyable to remember the things that brought us joy in the past, as well as to see how many of those have stayed the same. For my husband and I the chosen blessings do not vary much, but the children always have widely varying answers each year.
Trace your hand on a piece of paper.
Fill in each finger with one thing in your life for which you are grateful. Allow the children to take charge of their own gratitude hand turkey, even if that means bizarre answers and even more bizarre spelling. Those things will just make the turkeys more precious in the coming years.
Finish off your turkey by coloring the finger feathers and drawing the face and feet. Slide them into page protectors in your binder or put them on your refrigerator to enjoy all season long.
(Translation: Elk (his current favorite stuffed animal), Jr. Ranger (he loves nature), House, Bed, Mom. Sweet boy.)
Here is a peek into our Gratitude Binder. I love seeing the growth of little hands and their changing interests and fine motor skills.
I hope that this simple family activity inspires you to start a new tradition with your loved ones to help you focus on family and gratitude this Thanksgiving season.
If you enjoyed this post then you may also love these posts:
What My Mother’s Battle With Breast Cancer Taught Me About True Beauty
20 Activities to Teach Kids Gratitude
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Rachel Nielson says
November 13, 2014 at 11:06 amLove the idea of keeping them all in an album!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
November 13, 2014 at 1:20 pmI had them all floating around and decided enough was enough! I am sure to lose them if they aren’t in an album! This one is from Hobby Lobby. Very Thanksgiving-y I think.
Courtney O'Dell says
November 13, 2014 at 12:22 pmI LOVE this Sarah! Ok- I am starting one. Such a sweet and fun idea!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
November 13, 2014 at 1:20 pmThanks!! xoxo
Amber Price says
November 13, 2014 at 2:14 pmLove this post! Well written and a fun idea! I like the Chief Life Officer idea too!
Claire @ A Little Claireification says
November 17, 2014 at 2:36 pmI LOVE this cuteness! What a great idea. Pinning!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
November 17, 2014 at 8:52 pmThanks! 🙂
Kathleen says
November 19, 2014 at 9:30 amLove this! I’m sorry you lost your mom at such a young age. I miss my mom and I was 42… she died of lung cancer… smoker… ugh!
This is such a lovely idea. I used to have a table runner I made out of cotton and we wrote on it for a few years. Then, divorce. I think I will start this up again, even with my kids being in their 20’s.
Traditions can start at any time and carry on forever! I think they are so important and give such meaning to the holidays… more that the food and gifts (like at Christmas)! Okay, well, maybe not more than the food! 😉
thanks for sharing!
Happy Thanksgiving!
kathleen (who feels like a stalker as you will see I am following you on every social media site! LOL!)
Sarah Westover McKenna says
November 19, 2014 at 2:46 pmHaha. I am so happy to have you as a stalker! 😉 Thanks for the comment – I totally agree!!
Debbie says
November 3, 2015 at 12:24 pmThis is such a wonderful idea!
Erin says
November 7, 2015 at 9:10 amWhat a beautiful story about your mom, and a wonderful tradition for your kids. I may have to start this with my toddler! Thank you.
Sharleen says
November 8, 2015 at 5:33 pmVery cute! Thanks for linking up to Home Matters Party. #HomeMattersParty http://cu-rio.net/home-matters-linky-party-62/
Vanessa says
November 9, 2015 at 9:18 pmThis is a lovely Thanksgiving tradition! Thanks for linking up at “A Little Bird Told Me” Wednesday link party! You have been featured on Mama’s Happy Hive blog. 🙂