The Thankful Walk

I come from a family with eight kids and we visited The Morton Arboretum frequently as a family. One of my favorite traditions is our Thanksgiving Day walk at the Arboretum. It started when we were kids. I think that taking all of the kids to the Arboretum served two purposes: It got us out of the house so Mom could prepare the Thanksgiving feast and, since Dad was diabetic, it got him some extra excercise so he could enjoy his meal a little more! 

This tradition lasted through the years. As time went on and all eight of us got married and had kids of our own, we kept it up. One year on October 20, my dad passed away, so we were more determined than ever to walk on that Thanksgiving. Wouldn't you know, it was a bitter cold day with a mixture of snow, ice and freezing rain. But nothing could deter us! We walked that day, and now many of us are grandparents ourselves, still enjoying a brisk walk on Thanksgiving Day with our family!