Not sure why but I always think of, and refer to, Thanksgiving as “my holiday.” For a lot of years, it was the one day I could generally get the majority of our brood gathered around the table. I loved the feeling of having everyone together for no other reason than to enjoy a meal and a day of being together.

I’ve had a lot of fun trying out new recipes and new menus. While turkey is always a staple, the way I prepare it and the sides changes regularly. Not for me the tradition of “this is what we have every year,” I love to mix things up, to spend weeks pouring over recipes and figuring out my plan. Rarely have I had something that did not work out although, more than once, I have included things that were, perhaps, more work than they were worth. My youngest son, the most consistent of my kitchen partners, will ask “Remember that pie that took the entire day?” I do indeed and we both laugh.

I have often asked our gatherings to name one thing they are grateful for, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday. The answers are sometimes flippant and sometimes sincere but I think there is something to be gained by the exercise. Because, I think, gratitude underlies so much—our health, our relationships, our sense of self.

This year my gratitude will be, as always, focused on my family. The thankfulness I feel for my loving husband, our children and their families, our extended family and our friends who are family, fills my heart with warmth and appreciation.

But this year my gratitude will also be joined by prayer and hope. My heart aches for those who have lost loved ones during the attack on Israel, for the hostages and their families whose suffering I cannot even imagine. I pray for a world in which hatred has no home and in which children do not have to live in fear.

May the time not be long in coming when we all can live fully, when we all can strive to fill our full hearts.