Cue the Crickets 🦗: My Thanksgiving Gratitude Fail

One year we hosted Thanksgiving for thirty-something people and I had what I thought was a genius idea.

Between the turkey, the chaos, the kids running wild in the basement, and the dessert spread that could've catered a wedding, I wanted to center the holiday. Make it more than just a food frenzy. So I suggested we go around the table and say one thing we were grateful for.

My kids were psyched. Big-time feelers and sharers, they led the way with heartfelt, slightly funny, deeply sweet answers. They nailed the grateful-for-family, grateful-for-health, grateful-for-each-other trifecta. Then it was the grown-ups' turn.

Crickets.

Awkward silence. The kind where you can hear someone nervously breathing. People shifted in their seats. Someone made a joke. Another reached for more wine. Eventually the moment slipped away and gratitude hour became dessert round two.

I was stunned. Was it too much? Too Oprah?

Turns out, not everyone wants to perform their feelings like a Broadway show. Not everyone processes gratitude out loud. And that's okay.

That night taught me something: gratitude doesn't always look like a speech. Sometimes it's in the way someone brings an extra chair. Or helps with dishes. Or quietly slips you the last piece of pie without making a big deal about it.

Gratitude can be loud and proud. Or quiet and private. You just have to know where to look.