For I dance
And drink and sing,
Till some blind hand Shall brush my wing.
William Blake

Our family celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, Sunday with a small dinner. Normally, immediate-GTA-familygatherings are 12 adults and 11 kids but this weekend, my siblings were spending time with the other side of their family so we invited my parents to join us for a cozy 5 person dinner.

My dad loves prime rib so that became the order of the day along with maple flavoured sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, sauteed brussell sprouts with red onions and a quinoa pilaf with pumpkin seeds and cranberries. For appetizers we had baked brie with maple syrup and pecans and a store-bought salmon and spinach mousse.

The finale was a belated birthday cake for my husband, a chocolate roll. After serving the cake my son took a bite and said to me. “”Mom, did you want to have a taste of your cake?”” Suddenly it dawned on me why the consistency of the batter had seemed different. I had forgotten the sugar. Everyone gamely, sprinkled sugar on the cake and remarked that it wasn’t too bad but . . .

In preparing for the meal, I violated one of my main rules of stress avoidance, which is “never shop on the same day that you entertain”, except for flowers and fresh bread.  And have enough done in advance that you can easily fit in a run”. Happily, in spite of cleaning, cooking and shopping on the day-of, preparations were relaxed.  As for the run, I have to confess that it was touch and go however I had put it on the optional list for the day because I had decided to race.  At 4:30 p.m. I ran 20 minutes, to stay loose but with the long run the previous day and a 5K on Thanksgiving Monday, backing off was in order.

The race was a fundraiser for Kerr Street Ministries whose mission includes feeding the hungry in Oakville.  Stay tuned for race details and photos later today or tomorrow.

Over the weekend our thoughts and prayers go to those who do not experience abundance, as we give thanks for our good fortune and seek ways to contribute to the greater good.

A happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all!

O God, to those who have hunger give bread; and to those who have bread give the hunger for justice.

— Latin American prayer

May God bless you with the discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you will live deep in your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people and the earth so that you will work for justice, equity and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer so you will reach out your hands to comfort them and change their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world, so you will do the things which others say cannot be done.

–Franciscan prayer