"This will never do." I kept telling my husband as he set the table one Thanksgiving. I wanted everything to be 1 , because my parents would come. Criticisms from my childhood 2 rang in my mind. So whenever my parents visited us, I 3 myself for more faultfinding. The unhealthy pursuit of perfection 4 the joy from our celebration. Gradually I 5 the reason for Thanksgiving, and I found myself, like my parents, 6 people around me.
Then luckily, I read from a book, "Too much criticism hurts; necessary praise helps. Put your praise of someone in 7 so that the person can save and read it."
So the next Thanksgiving, I 8 to my husband and my son, "We're each going to write a message saying what we 9 about one of us." Despite their eye-rolling, we soon finished and exchanged our 10 . My son sat up straighter after 11 what his father had written about him. And I felt so uplifted myself when I read "I am proud of your cooking." That was a life-changing 12 . Since then my family has the 13 and we do it year-round―not just the fourth Thursday of November.
I no longer just focus on finding fault with others. I'm more 14 how I can help the people around me feel loved and appreciated. Especially in writing, because behind every 15 is the power of love.
