Giving thanks (2011)

[This is my Thanksgiving post from 2008. I've made some edits to it to bring it up to date, but I still feel this way.] Today in the United States is the holiday of Thanksgiving, one of our more deeply tradition-laden days. I suspect most people in other countries know this as the time we eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie (though not me, I prefer chocolate pie). And then there's the shopping the next day, of course. But there is also the tradition after which the holiday itself is named: giving thanks. People do it in different ways, of course. At a family dinner many years ago, my then-young niece suggested that we go around the dinner table and everyone could say what they were thankful for. It was a sweet idea, and we've done it many times since, when we're all gathered. But there's something about ...