A Thanksgiving Wish for YOU!!

The holidays can feel like a beautiful storm: laughter from the next room, familiar stories that grow longer each year, and that one relative who arrives with a corny joke loaded and ready. We lean into all of it—joy, friction, tenderness, and the urge to hide in the pantry—and talk about a form of gratitude that makes room for every feeling. Instead of chasing picture-perfect moments, we choose presence, noticing the small acts of care that keep a family stitched together.

I share a simple reframe for the season: be present, not perfect. We walk through the cast of characters who show up at gatherings—the encouragers, truth tellers, peacemakers, oversharers, and comedians—and explore how each one adds flavor to the day. Together we look at how life’s sudden turns sharpen perspective and why even the jokes we pretend to dread can become the memories we miss most. When we remember the fragility of time, our words soften, our listening deepens, and our appreciation widens.

If your table is loud and imperfect, you’re right on track. Use a few practical cues to stay steady: breathe before you react, notice one specific detail you appreciate about each person, and stretch your listening by ten seconds. Those small choices can shift the entire room. Press play for a calm, grounded guide to navigating family, chosen family, and the messy grace of being together. If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with someone in your circle, and leave a review so more people can find Sisters in Service.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Mission Of The Show
• 0:44 Sponsors And Invitation To Listen
• 1:14 Framing Family And The Holidays
• 2:12 Real Gratitude Beyond Perfection
• 3:20 The Cast Of Characters We Love
• 5:45 Perspective From Life’s Fragile Moments
• 7:04 Practical Presence At Gatherings
• 8:30 Closing Reflections And Thanksgiving Wish

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Sisters in Service Podcast, the space where stories from active duty veterans, military spouses, and even military brats finally get the spotlight they deserve. I'm your host, Kat Corchado, Air Force veteran, movement specialist, and the heart behind this podcast. I started Sisters in Service because too many stories from our community were going untold. Stories of resilience, transition, identity, and the strength it takes to serve and to thrive beyond the uniform. This podcast is about connection, empowerment, and reminding each of us that our service didn't end when our military chapter closed. It simply evolved. Sisters in Service is proudly sponsored by Fit for Life Alliance, a space where people are committed to feeling better in their bodies every single day, and by MySexy Business, where you can own a business that doesn't own you. So grab your coffee, your journal, or your walking shoes because every episode is an invitation to listen, learn, and lean into the powerful stories that remind us service is a sisterhood that never fades. Welcome everyone to another episode of Sisters in Service. I am your host, Kat Cortato. And today I want to just think about talking about Thanksgiving and family get-togethers. So it's just you and me today settling in for a real conversation about family. So listen, when I say family, that includes everybody in your circle. The relatives, the chosen family, the friends who became fixtures in your life, and the people who show up in ways big and small. You know, the holiday season has a way of throwing us into the deep end of togetherness, doesn't it? One minute you're sipping cocoa and feeling all warm and fuzzy, and the next minute someone's asking you a question that makes you rethink why you came in the first place. But today we're going to dive into gratitude. Not the Pinterest version, but the kind that holds space for love, irritation, tenderness, and the occasional desire to hide in the pantry. Because here's the truth gratitude isn't only for the people who are easy to love, it's for the whole collection, the crew, the tribe, the characters who make up your story. And yes, we will absolutely talk about that one family member who comes armed with corny jokes and zero remorse. So take a breath, get comfy, and maybe grab a drink and let's chat for a minute. So family gatherings are a whole different thing. You walk in the door and instantly fall into familiar rhythms, almost like choreography. You've got the hugger who squeezes like they're checking your bone density, the relative who gives commentary under their breath like they're narrating a wildlife documentary. The person who shows up late but acts like they've been there the whole time. And of course, the keeper of corny jokes, you know the one. The person who walks in and says, I'm on a seafood diet. I see it and I eat it. And they laugh like it's the first time they've ever told that joke. And honestly, we kind of love them for it, don't you think? And sometimes we need to brace ourselves for what's coming next. Family is this complicated mix of comfort and chaos. You can be laughing one minute and rolling your eyes the next. You can be deeply grateful and mildly annoyed at the same time. Those emotions can coexist and they often do. The beauty of family isn't that it isn't perfect, it never has been. It's this constantly evolving ecosystem where everyone grows, everyone shifts, and everyone carries some history. And yet, despite it all, there's a bond underneath the noise. Family, whether chosen or inherited, isn't about perfection, it's about presence. So let's talk about gratitude for just a second. Not the kind where you say I'm grateful for everything while mentally making a list of people who tested you today. I'm talking about real gratitude, the kind that acknowledges I love you even when you get on my nerves, even when you ask too many questions, even when you retell the same story from 1994 and it gets longer every year. You know, gratitude is easier when we stop trying to face it or force it, I'm sorry, into neat categories. You don't have to be grateful for every habit, every comment, every corny joke, but you can be grateful for the person behind it. Think about your circle for a moment, the cast of characters who walk through your life. You've got your encouragers, your truth tellers, your comedians, the oversharers, the peacemakers, the ones who are a little dramatic, and yes, the corny joke specialist. You know, each one of them adds something to your life. Sometimes sweetness, sometimes spice, sometimes the need for a walk around the block, but they're all a part of the recipe. Gratitude becomes richer when we honor the whole spectrum. Because when we look back on our lives, it's not the perfectly curated moments we remember. It's the messy, funny, unexpected real ones. So here's the part that gets a little deeper. You know, life shifts and it shifts fast. It could be a phone call, a diagnosis, an accident, a moment in time that changes everything. We've all had at least one moment where time suddenly felt fragile. And when that happens, arguments, annoyances, petty grievances, they seem to fade away. What rises to the top is love, presence, memory, the sound of someone's laugh, the way they walked into a room, the little things they said, even the corny jokes you pretended to dread, those become the stories you hold on to, the ones you wish you could hear just one more time. This isn't about sadness. This is about perspective, about remembering that the people in our lives, even the complicated ones, are gifts, temporary gifts, beautiful, imperfect, irreplaceable. When we understand the fragility of these connections, we show up differently. We soften, we stay present longer, we choose our words more intentionally. Maybe we even listen a little deeper, hug a little tighter, and we appreciate the moments, even the chaotic ones, because they're part of the brief, irresistible dance of being alive together. So as you navigate your holiday gathering this year, try this. Let yourself be present, not perfect. Notice the little things, the laughter drifting from another room, the familiar voices overlapping, the person who makes their same signature dish every year, and yeah, the corny jokes that show up like clockwork. But also the small acts of care that often go unnoticed. And when someone gets on your nerves, and let's be honest, they will use it as a tiny invitation to breathe, smile internally, and think, I'm grateful we're still here together. Because one day you'll realize that even these imperfect moments were the good old days. So thank you for spending this time with me today and for listening. Family is wild, wonderful, and imperfect. And I hope this episode helps you appreciate your circle just a little bit more. The whole circle, not just the easy parts. Remember, gratitude isn't a holiday decoration you pull out once a year. It's something you build moment by moment. In a way you see and love the people around you. So go enjoy your people. Every quirky, loving nerve testing one of them. Even the one who will absolutely corner you with a joke that starts with, hey, did you hear about? Until next time, keep moving, keep loving, and keep savoring the beautiful chaos of your life. So I'm going to say, have an amazing Thanksgiving. Remember why you're together. And have some patience and some love for those people that get on your nerves. Because at one point in time, all of those people may or may not be there for whatever reason. So please stay safe, take care of each other until next time. And always remember, it's never too late to start your impossible.