Special Episode - Celebrate Thanksgiving - A time for gratitude

It was the first Thanksgiving without Jack. Just a few months had passed since he’d been gone, and the family still felt the weight of his absence. He’d been the anchor of every holiday, carving the turkey, telling stories, making everyone laugh even when things were hard. This year, as they set the table, each place setting seemed heavier, and every laugh felt quieted by the lingering grief.

Sarah, his wife, wondered how they would get through the evening. She worried about her two children, who looked up to their dad so much, and her own heart felt fractured. She wanted to honor him, but the idea of celebration felt impossible.

Yet, as everyone gathered around the table, her son, Will, brought out an old journal. It was Jack’s, filled with his thoughts, sketches, and notes, and a bit of laughter spread as they realized how little anyone had known about this private collection of memories. It was titled "Things I’m Grateful For."

Sarah hesitated, feeling overwhelmed by the bittersweet nature of the discovery, but her daughter encouraged her, "Please, Mom, read some of it. Let’s hear what Dad wrote."

Sarah opened it to the first page, where Jack had written a simple list from a Thanksgiving years ago. It read:

1. Sarah’s laugh when it’s too loud and she doesn’t care.
2. The kids—everything they say, everything they do, even the things that make me crazy.
3. Freshly fallen leaves and that sound they make when we crunch through them.
4. Family. I don’t deserve them, but I love them more than anything.
5. Every Thanksgiving we get to share together.

Sarah’s voice cracked as she read, but she kept going. Each entry listed another detail Jack had appreciated, from the small quirks of family life to moments they’d all shared but might have forgotten. His journal wasn’t filled with grand things but with quiet, fleeting moments—a shared sunrise, a silly argument that ended in laughter, little things the kids said, the warmth of a fireplace.

As the family sat together, they found themselves remembering each moment. Each word he’d written helped them feel closer to him, as though he were still with them, urging them to see all the small blessings they still had.

They went around the table, sharing memories of Jack and adding to his list, taking turns to express gratitude for things they might have overlooked. There were tears, but also smiles, and something warm and healing began to fill the room.

By the end of the evening, they realized that Jack’s absence hadn’t taken him away. Instead, his memory had reminded them of everything they still had. They found strength and gratitude not in the presence of something new, but in the quiet beauty of what had been, and in the realization that gratitude could carry them through even the heaviest loss.

As they finished their meal, Sarah looked around the table, and for the first time since his passing, she felt peace. She knew they would be okay, carrying Jack with them in the moments they remembered, in the love they shared, and in every Thanksgiving yet to come.

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