I called my son Cory right after he and his wife Casey moved into their new home several years ago to ask what they were doing for Thanksgiving that year.

"We thought we'd have you guys over along with the in-laws for a big feast," he replied. "Great!" I responded, excited about eating at his home for the first time. "What can we bring?" I asked. "Everything," was his response. "We're providing the roof."

No worries. We love to cook and my son Christopher, now a nurse by profession, usually does the deed by deep-frying some turkeys. After he pulls the first one out, it's usually devoured by the witnesses before the second one is fully cooked.

The word thanksgiving has its origins in the Greek word, roughly translated Eucharist. It's a time for thanks and giving, but for some it can be a difficult time as well.

Holidays can be both wonderful and depressing as they can remind us of lost loved ones. An even greater loss is "lost live ones." You know what I'm talking about- those brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles, sons or daughters, for mothers or fathers or even grandparents that we somehow have lost contact with for one reason or another.

We live in such a mobile society today with loved ones scattered all over the place. Getting them together for holiday events isn't easy.

There's a cute story about a man in Miami who called his son in New York three days before Thanksgiving and said, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this!"

She calls Miami immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing! DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says smiling at his wife, "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

Thanksgiving is said to be the biggest travel week of the year. I spoke to the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) in India one time and their big push was to try to get their Indian counterparts to invent a day like Thanksgiving.

Turkey is the typical cuisine at Thanksgiving and is actually very healthy for you. Still, a lot of folks don't cook a Turkey correctly because they don't cook it often enough. Many times undercook it because they fail to thaw it first, reminding me of this poem:

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

Baby Josh was sitting in his grandmother's kitchen, watching her prepare the Thanksgiving meal. "What are you doing?" Josh asked. "Oh, I'm just stuffing the turkey," his grandmother replied. "That's cool!" Josh lamented. "Are you going to hang it next to papa's deer?"

Be thankful for even the little things like the mess after Thanksgiving dinner because it meant that family and friends were there to share it together. Be thankful for the taxes you pay because it means you were employed. Be thankful of the lawn that needs mowing, the windows that need cleaning and the gutters that need fixing because it means you have a home. Be thankful of your power bill because you were kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Be thankful for the pile of laundry you have to iron because it means your family has clothes to wear. And most of all…is thankful that you live on the bright side of the dirt. The next time you think you're having a lousy day, try missing one. Be thankful!