Every November at LifeStyle Denver, the Thanksgiving meal has taken front and center.

What’s it like eating tofu turkey?  How about store bought pumpkin pie?  Drinking bad whine? And what about mashed potatoes, should you add gravy?
It’s Thanksgiving Day, 2012, and this year’s rumination is about time, not food.
In the time it takes to brush a lock of hair from your toddler’s eyes, you’re soon packing him off to college. A blink of an eye and 17 Thanksgivings.  Time is such a precious commodity in our harried world, and it’s time that makes Thanksgiving the special holiday it is.  Everyone slows down, Denver is quietly anticipating football, turkey and pie, but at this moment we’re pausing to reflect, to enjoy and to breathe.
Each year, my work colleagues and I take a morning before Thanksgiving and again before the New Year to deliver Meals on Wheels.  It’s one morning’s worth of time, but the delight in the recipients’ eyes when they come to the door reflects an eternity of hope and anticipation.  It’s a bit of time we spend together, comparing our own upcoming Thanksgiving holidays, and enjoying being helpful in a small way.  This year we went to the door of Mr. Roberts, which took awhile to find because the building was being painted and the numbers had been taken down.  He was slow to answer, and cracked the door to see who it would be.  When he saw my friend and I standing on his stoop with a large box of food for Thanksgiving he broke into a huge gap-toothed grin.  “Thank you!  You brought me food and two beautiful smiles too!”
No. Thank you, Mr. Roberts.
And thank you to the family, friends, colleagues and clients who have spent the time this year to listen, support and cheerlead. And listen, and support.  The time you donated to me will never be forgotten and will always be cherished.  The year is closing in on its end.  A year of transition.  New traditions will be embraced, old traditions never forgotten.
Happy Thanksgiving from Denver.
Gretchen Rosenberg