Jessica Kelso

I know there is only a week until we all gather around the dinner table and stuff our faces full of yummy turkey, stuffing, and pies. . . but I thought I could go ahead and be thankful for one thing every day until then.

Today (and every day) I’m thankful for my wonderful parents.

I’m thankful for their selflessness. I’m thankful they raised me in church, so I knew from a young age how much God loved me. I’m thankful they fought for their marriage through hard times, and are still together to this day. I’m thankful that they never forced me to be someone I wasn’t. I’m thankful for their forgiveness day after day. I’m thankful that they picked out a nice name for me, knowing how much worse life could have been with a name like “Talula does the hula“. I’m thankful that they live 5 minutes away so I can go see them anytime I want. I’m thankful for their devotion to God, their marriage, and us kids. I’m thankful that I got dad’s sense of humor and mom’s tender heart.

I wasn’t able to pick the family I was born into. . . but if I could have, they are it. I will never be able to fully repay them for the love they have shown me or the gifts they have given, but I will try my best to pass on all of these things to my own children someday.