GIVING THANKS

I have cooked and cleaned and prepared many a Thanksgiving feast in my years
on this earth. Every year I would look around me and try to be mindful of what I am thankful for. When I was younger, of course I was thankful for many of the usual things; my sometimes volatile but solid marriage (we are a classic meeting of the stubborn minds kind of couple), my children and their good health, our home, the full pantry, etc.

But now that I am older and have earned the right to let my mind wander where it will, it comes to me that perhaps I missed the blessing wrapped in many a disaster or catastrophe. And so, I bear your indulgence while I reflect on some of the things I have only come to lately be thankful for.

I am thankful for the day my 2 year old set my kitchen on fire with the toaster… it was both a warning to always pull the plug on an appliance when not in use and also a way to get new cabinets.

I am thankful for the hour I spent scrubbing pee from the floor and ceiling in my bathroom. See, I had 4 boys of varying ages and the 3 oldest were supposed to be teaching the youngest how to use the toilet – the reason I am so thankful for this event is that I allowed me to add another highly embarrassing story to my arsenal.

I am thankful for all the miserable, pin-headed bosses I have endured over the years; now that I work for myself, I have only one a**hole to answer to!

I am thankful for all the software glitches I have screamed and cried through for without them I would have been too lazy to learn much about how this thing works!

I am thankful for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and St Patrick’s Day and Hannukah and for pizza, Chinese take out, Japanese steakhouses, Greek restaurants and all the little shops and eateries that remind me, what it really means to be an American despite our different ethnic histories, different recipes and different languages.

I am thankful for the local restaurant owner who, every Thanksgiving, opens his restaurant to anyone who wants to share a meal and proceeds to put on quite a feast. His invitation is worded in such a way so whether someone needs a meal or just wants to be there for the friendship, everyone can do so with dignity. It reminds me that while I’m involved in all the holiday preparations, not to forget others less fortunate – the food banks and various ministries are counting on us.

Good times, bad times, somehow, we endure and I am reminded of the words of the late Tim Russert, “Isn’t this just the greatest country we live in?”

Happy Thanksgiving!