The skies are no more blue, the children are no more laughing and being seen in the park

playing. The skies are now gray and the snow/rain mix falls softly to the ground. A look of dreariness on the outside, while I am inside with the heat coming over me.

The holidays are coming, and for some, this is a joyous season full of food, laughter, and good times being spent together. For most of us, it is a season to spend much more time in the stores buying presents. Trunks of cars are filled to the maximum and hopes in our heads are, that the person we bought this gift for will love it as much as I loved picking it out.

The Christmas tree decorating is a highlight for some. The melodies are playing happily in the background. Fireplaces are lit with flames dancing for our delight. Each child helping to decorate their section of the tree, placing ornaments in silly places, throwing icicles in bundles. Parents stand back and tell the child what a great job they have done with this family project, and when the child walks a way, mommy, goes behind her or him and straightens just a little.

A Thanksgiving feast awaits each eye that walks into our front door, and everyone claims how they starved themselves, waiting for the feast. Dishes being brought and the card tables are looking over crowded, as each guest arrives

Grace is said while all hold hands, and thanks are spread around the room for the food they are about to partake. Clatter of glasses, and silverware clinking on the plates, shows the chef that this meal was worth all the work put into it.

The gentlemen retire to the den and the ladies clear the table, only leaving the munchies for the ones who always find a little more space to fill. The men watch sports or nap, and the ladies chatter about the plans in progress for Christmas, and exchange recipes, and the children go out doors to play in the snow.

In my eyes, whether this actually happened in my brain or it was formed in my mind, this is the Thanksgiving perfect holiday. Family together, spending the entire day doing nothing more than expected.

I look out my window at the dreary skies, and the snow falling, and wonder if others feel what I feel, or are there some who are dreading being alone. Are the lonely people going to remain lonely on this day? Will they even cross our minds? Are the ones hiding under the bridges to stay warm, going to be able to be taken in for food, and heat, and conversation?

Do we spend any time in the hospitals or nursing homes letting someone know we care? Do we participate in Angel Tree Programs so others less fortunate may open one gift under their invisible tree? Will we ring the bell for the season, helping fill homes with heat and water?

This is a joyous season for some, and for others it can be very lonely and cold, and others are so destitute, that suicide can be the main course for the day. Let us all remember others that are near us, maybe a neighbor next door, or someone down the block. Let us try to remember just one other while we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day.

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