What up, UND?

I don’t know about you guys, but this week has been a real struggle for me. Struggle bus, lazy train, no-motivation tugboat, you name it. I’m on it. It’s not that I want to feel this way. I think the real reason I’m so distracted is that I’m too excited for Thanksgiving!

That’s right, people, it’s just around the corner. That glorious day when we give thanks for what we have and then gorge ourselves and don’t allow ourselves to feel an ounce of guilt for what we just consumed.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time in my family. We usually host at our house, which is nice since I don’t have to spend any part of the day on a car ride. My family, or more so myself, I suppose, has had this tradition of running a 10k race every Thanksgiving morning for the past three years. It is called the “Turkey Trot” and it benefits IRIS, or Infants Remembered in Silence. It’s for newborns who have died and the remembrance of them.

It’s a great cause and it makes feel even less guilty eating food all day! No one else in my family runs it, but my mother likes to stand on the porch as we all run by and take pictures and ring bells. Yeah, she’s one of those moms. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This year, however, my sister is running the 10k with me, as well as my uncle. So I’m looking forward to it even more.

I honestly need a break, so I can’t wait for the holiday. I haven’t been together with my whole family since the summer, and I sure miss them, especially the huge bear hugs my sister gives. I can’t wait to relax and spend time at home with my family for a few days. I also don’t have to work anywhere on Black Friday like I have in previous years, so that’s a huge plus!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with your family, if you are able to. And no matter what you do on Thanksgiving or who you spend it with, remember to be thankful for all you have in your life. You are much more privileged than most. It may be hard to see sometimes, but you have a lot to be thankful for!

Here are two very awkward pictures of me running the “Turkey Trot” last year.