Thankful Friday: Celebrating Gratitude and Hope During the Thanksgiving Season
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
We have so many new friends who have come into the 4-Legger pack over the past few years and it occurred to me that some may not know why we call our Thanksgiving sale “Thankful Friday” instead of going along with the traditional Black Friday / Cyber Monday hooplah.
We all have times in our lives when difficult circumstances arise and cause us to come face to face with things we would never choose to confront. Maybe the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, saying goodbye to our beloved pets and serious, unexpected health issues just to name a few. Those are certainly moments that give us opportunities to see how we will handle those times when they come. At the onset of those kinds of things, it’s hard to be very positive or see any kind of silver lining through the storm. But with time and perspective, we also have a chance to change any negative or sad feelings with thoughts that are hopeful and positive. Of course, life is never the same after going through these kinds of losses, but we can gradually allow joy to return and begin to take comfort in the special memories and reflections on the happiness and peace we once felt.
That’s the process that I went through during one of those times in my life beginning in November of 2013. On the Friday before Thanksgiving, two catastrophic things happened to me. First, my beloved toy poodle Henry Clay lost his 3 year battle with cancer mid-morning, and later that afternoon I received a phone call from the hospital that my cancer diagnostics had come back revealing metastatic malignancy. That was a horrible Friday in more ways than I can even begin to express and it led to an equally horrible 22 months of complicated and difficult treatment. My mindset became survival - one day at a time and though I didn’t know it at that time, these same terrible events were what would lay the groundwork for the creation of 4-Legger which gradually began to emerge during those days. Without a doubt, my faith was the sustaining source of strength and hope that God was in control even though it felt like nobody was. That is what got me through the hardest days and eventually allowed me to see the good things God had planned for my life. I am so blessed to have a strong heritage of Christianity in my family that is generations deep. That may not be your thing and that’s ok. But for me…it’s everything!
Fast forward to 2016. I had finally finished treatment and was gradually getting back the energy and stamina that treatment had drained. 4-Legger was a real company having just finished our first full year of helping dogs have healthier and safer baths using grooming products that were free of chemical toxins. So when it became time to plan for our Thanksgiving sale that year, the thought came very strongly to me that I had so much to be thankful for that my gratitude should be reflected in positivity. Because Thanksgiving of 2013 was so utterly devastating, and conversely Thanksgiving of 2016 was such a blessing as I recalled how my own life had been spared and my precious dog’s life had inspired an industry-changing shift in bringing awareness and change to common manufacturing practices of using toxic and harmful chemicals on our beloved pets. What a turn-around!
Black Friday (dismal and negative sounding) became Thankful Friday - focusing on gratitude for the past and hope for the future. As it should always be.
We are so honored and grateful to have so many responsible and proactive pet parents in our community who strive to always do the best they can for their fur-kids. You all are the cream of the crop and we are blessed to be in partnership with you!
Thanksgiving blessings to you!
Melissa
