This year I was so pumped about Thanksgiving approaching. I feel like I don’t see my family half as much as I did when I was younger. We are all so spread out and preoccupied it gets challenging to make time for everyone to be in the same space. So, I was most excited about Thanksgiving because I got to see my family and less excited about Thanksgiving food. Holidays mean something totally different when your older. But so does family. When I was younger I didn’t understand the not so fantastic parts of family relationships. I didn’t get why people said and did things to hurt each other or played “favorites”. In fact, I barely even noticed those things as much as I do in the present time. As an adult now understanding these things I can accept that sometimes the worst things that people say and do to you throughout life will come from family members. Hurt people, hurt people and in our lives we all have periods of pain and suffering. Sometimes they are prolonged and stretched out over long periods yet other times they are short and temporary. Sometimes it’s easier to project that internal pain on other people instead of recognizing what we can do in our own lives to improve ourselves. That’s just how it is. But despite any and everything that occurs in our life we are only in control of ourselves and our own personal actions, I always think of this quote:

“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” -John Maxwell

Life is unpredictable, life is not fair and we can’t control it. We can’t control people, situations or things outside of our own being. But we can control ourselves. I have to admit, I’m thankful for the family that I do have. The bad times are never that bad and the good times are always far beyond good. I’ve definitely learned to pick battles wisely and be more introspective about my reactions from being around family. Today was a fantastic day spent talking, eating and having fun. Here are the good, bad and ugly of my Thanksgiving Day:

The good: I got to see my family, and we traveled to my grandmother, so she didn’t have to leave the comfort of her home!
The bad: We had to leave early and couldn’t stay too long
The ugly: I didn’t get to see EVERYONE at one time in one place – there are SO many people in my family and the holidays are a challenge!

What are the Good, Bad & Ugly parts of your Thanksgiving?