Thanksgiving

"We all can 'act' a certain way for a brief period of time, for instance, on Thanksgiving, who of us hasn't had to 'act' like we just loved everyone at the table? This brief show of good behavior is not true character. Our character is who we are when no one is looking."  Becky Van Volkinburg

As I think about this Thanksgiving I have both mixed emotions.  My sister and husband have just moved to Houston, my nieces and nephew are scattered around the country.  They all came back to the area and we had a great Thanksgivings.  The sad part is this is probably the last time the entire family is together. 

I spoke tonight at an AA meeting and tomorrow is my 29th anniversary which means I was looking back over my life and how it has changed.  It’s strange that I went from a lost person who had no friends and family did not want me around to someone who is responsible and has the love of his family.  

The last line of the quote gave me pause.  What am I like when people are not looking, do I do the next right thing.  Do I treat people the way I want to be treated? How do I react when things are not going my way?  

I would love to say I answer a positive to all the questions but sometimes I don’t.  What I have found is that life is about the practice, not about being perfect, but trying to do the best with the abilities that I was given to make things a little better. Hopefully I am doing this, but one can never tell.

I have to remember it’s the journey not the destination that is important, because I am really not read to arrive at the destination yet.