Thanksgiving Reflection

Thanksgiving is over…my favorite food holiday of the year.  As exciting as it was in October, I have  now grown tired of hearing and providing Thanksgiving recipes, tips on how to avoid the typical 3000-4000 in one dinner, and how to maintain one’s weight during the holiday season.  I hope everyone had an excellent dinner and got to spend some quality time with friends and family eating delicious food and reflecting on how fortunate we all really are. 

I am thankful for a lot of things, but one thing I appreciate is something people do not often mention during the holiday season:  my profession.  Any job can be frustrating at times and being an RD is not without it's drawbacks:  we have licensure issues, we do not get compensated well through insurance, there are a lot of other people who would like to be considered nutrition professionals without the credentials and education we have obtained, sometimes our pay scales aren’t what they should be…..but I am very thankful for the fact that I get to have a job where I talk to people about food and nutrition ALL DAY.  To me, it doesn’t get much better than that.  Every time I teach a class and notice my patients studiously taking notes, paying close attention and asking questions, I am thankful.  Every time I get to work with a patient or a family on how to eat for better once they leave the hospital, I am thankful.  Every time a doctor comes to me with a nutrition question and follows the advice I give to treat their patients, I am thankful. 

Thanksgiving is over, sadly, but we still have all the holiday parties and various religious and seasonal celebrations ahead of us in the next month.  We still have to consider how not to over-consume, how to stay sane, and how to balance regular life in a sea of festivity.  Just because Thanksgiving is over doesn't mean that self-reflection has to end.  What do you continue to be thankful for as the season progresses?  What are your goals for the end of this year and the beginning of a new one?