A Dairy Thanksgiving

It's the day after Thanksgiving and people flocked to the sales early this morning.  Well, not everyone got excited about Black Friday.  As a dairy farmer, I was up early enough to hit the sales, but cows took priority and their comfort came before crowded malls with "fantastic" sales.  I have several friends and family who make the annual trek to the big sales that start at midnight and go on until late afternoon.  Black Friday started with several black & white cows and calves that required tending, so the sales went on without me (not that I was missed). 

Here in the Ozarks, we awoke to a mixture of cold rain, sleet and snow Thanksgiving morning.  Needles to say, we didn't have ideal conditions for a family get-together.  We did manage to get chores done without too many problems and I was able to get everything cooked for our big meal.  Our milk hauler even timed his arrival for a hot-out-of-the-oven cinnamon roll that morning.  Sure we didn't get around as fast as we normally do, but we did get chores taken care of.  

Despite all of the challenges, we made it to my in-laws a little early and had a wonderful meal with our family.  Even after all of the grumbling about the nasty weather, we had an amazing sunset.  It just goes to prove that no matter how bad we think things seem at the time, there is something good that comes from it.  As we admired the beauty of the end of the day, I started thinking of all of my blessings and reasons I had to be Thankful...my family, friends, freedom and not having to fight the crowds at the mall.