…as a kid we lived 2800 miles from the nearest relative therefore Thanksgiving was not about gathering with extended family, however my parents always had house full for the meal. My dad served as the Academic Dean of a small college in California. The staff and students were from various parts of the country or other countries, which made it impossible for them to travel to their family homes in a short period of time.

Each year leading up to Thanksgiving my parents would survey the staff and students to discover who had no place to spend the day. It was then the invitations were communicated and many accepted for Thanksgiving dinner at our home.

Today’s Thanksgiving was different and revolved around extended family. But from my parents example of generosity I learned the true spirit of the holiday.