Thankful for Family Day
Happy November! There’s no set time or place for gratitude—it’s welcome any time, anywhere. However, November is traditionally a pretty thankful month.
Last year, I was sincerely thankful for hitting my one-year writing anniversary with AWN. You may even notice my piece from last year started off the exact same way, “Happy November!” You’ll be hard-pressed to find ways to separate gratitude from happy.
This year, as I sit down to write a piece for November, I’m happy for one particular blessing we have at our current duty station. This is our third duty station after being married, but it’s our first time to experience a unit with Family Day.
In case you also have gone through a few stations without experiencing it, Family Day is one day per workweek when your service member is released from work earlier than usual in order to allow more time spent together as a family.
I absolutely love Family Day! I’m thankful for those extra two hours each week. I mean, let’s be real. I love my husband and am thankful for all of my hours with him.
Family Day is a reminder, though. It’s a set day. It’s becoming tradition for us. We get disappointed if schedules get changed and Family Day skips a week.
Many of you might have a set day of the year to be reminded to be thankful (Thanksgiving, anyone?).
How much do you love your Thanksgiving traditions and routines? What if you could have Thanksgiving every week? That’s a lot of turkey, or pie, or mashed potatoes and gravy, or whatever you get psyched about.
Me? I’m always psyched about time spent with my husband. And chances are that family time (pending your particular family) is probably a lot less likely than all that yummy Thanksgiving food to bring on a premature heart attack. Today, weekly at this duty station, and for a happy and healthy heart, I’m going to welcome this time and indulge in it like a great big feast.
Instead of, “Happy November!” as my thankful greeting, I’m changing it to “Happy Family Day!”
How does your current duty station give your family reason for thanks?
