Thanksgiving, 2021

Thanksgiving, 2021

Happy Thanksgiving

In wishing all oldest daughters and our families a day of joy and peace, I offer

the following Thanksgiving Prayer: 

For the laughter of the children,

For my own life breath,

For the abundance of food on this table,

For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,

For the roof over our heads,

The clothes on our backs,

For our health,

And our wealth of blessings,

For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,

For the freedom to pray these words

Without fear,

In any language,

In any faith,

In this great country,

Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.

Thank you God, for giving us all these.  Amen.

—by Rabbi Naomi Levi, from Talking to God: Personal Prayers for Times of Joy, Sadness, Struggle, and Celebration  (Alfred A. Knopf, New York)

Patricia Schudy

Patricia Schudy is the author of the non-fiction book, "Oldest Daughters: What to know if you are one or have ever been bossed around by one," and is currently writing a suspense-romance novel. She is a former nationally syndicated, youth-advice columnist ("Talk to Us," Universal Press Syndicate/Andrews McMeel) and a free-lance feature writer for local and national publications, ncluding Better Homes and Gardens /Meredith Publications, the Kansas City STAR Magazine and the National Catholic Reporter. She is a member of Sisters in Crime (SINC), Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and Northern Colorado Writers. The oldest child in her family-of-origin’s five siblings, she is the mother of five adult children and the grandmother of eight. “Relationships are integral to who I am and what I choose to write about.”