What will it be this year?

My family has a thanksgiving tradition every year: I force everyone to come up with a list of "things they are grateful for" and apply them to a creative format, predetermined by me. This started about four years ago and has become a ritual at our thanksgiving dinner table.

In turkey's past, we wrote haikus and most recently, we wrote limericks. You may be asking: why is the only creative forum a type of poem and not some other art form? It's because I'M the only one that enforces this tradition and therefor, I decide what the format will be. Seeing as a I was a creative writing major with a concentration on poetry, I assign what I know.

The results have been typical in the past few years: 1) My mom is careful and thoughtful in her crafting. She thinks long and hard about the things she is thankful for and then writes something honest and true. 2) my dad whips these things up by the dozen, each one better than the next and then he asks for another assignment, in which he can once again, go above and beyond the assignment. 3) My sister-in-law creates a masterpiece that leaves the rest of the family with mouths agape and the understanding that while she is of course a family member, she is a whole lot smarter than the rest of us. 4) my brother begrudgingly does a half-ass job in the 5 minutes before we sit down at the table, after I have scolded him for not taking me or my assignment seriously. 4b) or he employs his wife to do his dirty work. This will be the first year that my fiance joins in the fun and I imagine the results will be a mix of 1-4b in that he will be thoughtful, overachieving, brilliant and last-minute about the whole thing. Then, of course he will also be witty and hysterical. That's why I'm marrying him -- he is a combo of all things good in my family and then some other stuff too. And how do I measure up? That's why there is a comment section here.

I do admit to being slightly stumped this year as to what format we should use. All suggestions are welcome (again, I direct you to the comments section of this blog). I'm considering an acrostic poem with the word THANKSGIVING but I'm still on the fence.

Though the assignment is sometimes met with haste, it has served as a really nice way to acknowledge our blessings in a non-sitcom like way.