Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all are having a wonderful day.
Earlier today I was chatting with some friends on line. They represented a wide swath of the world--American, Canadian, Australian, Mexican, Dutch, German, Greek. And as we Americans wished each other happy Thanksgiving, it started a conversation about the holiday and what it does and should mean. (And also about similar holidays in other countries.)
I often joke that I love Thanksgiving because it's a whole day devoted to the cooking and eating of food. But that's really only a joke. (Okay, it's partly true.) But seriously, to me, Thanksgiving has always been about reflection. Looking back over the past year and acknowledging all the things we have to be thankful for.
We're taught, as schoolchildren in America, that the pilgrims had such a terrible time of it (And I don't doubt it, as they were severely underprepared to establish a colony anywhere.) that most of them died pretty much right off the bat. Probably all of them would have died if they hadn't learned and adapted. And, of course, if they had not helped each other and accepted help from the native Americans in the area. So Thanksgiving (whenever that took place) was literally that... a time of giving thanks. Thank you native Americans for teaching us skills we didn't realize we'd need. Thank you neighbors for sharing. Thank you everyone for doing your part. Thank you God for not letting us die.
To me, that's what the holiday is about. At the Patwoman house, we do this thing that everyone pretends to hate, but no one opts out of. Before we eat, we go around the table and express our thankfulness for all that we have, all that we love, and all that we survived. This year, we had several new projects and growing projects for the business that were, at the same time, challenging and successful. Some of us had new jobs that we had to learn and train for and some took on new responsibilities in their current roles. We had stresses like health issues for T's parents. R and M both strengthened and deepened their personal relationships with their significant others--R and Bre even took it to the next level and got engaged to be married. And today, we were all together at the same table... healthy and happy. And thankful.
That's a universal feeling. Happy Thanksgiving.
Earlier today I was chatting with some friends on line. They represented a wide swath of the world--American, Canadian, Australian, Mexican, Dutch, German, Greek. And as we Americans wished each other happy Thanksgiving, it started a conversation about the holiday and what it does and should mean. (And also about similar holidays in other countries.)
I often joke that I love Thanksgiving because it's a whole day devoted to the cooking and eating of food. But that's really only a joke. (Okay, it's partly true.) But seriously, to me, Thanksgiving has always been about reflection. Looking back over the past year and acknowledging all the things we have to be thankful for.
We're taught, as schoolchildren in America, that the pilgrims had such a terrible time of it (And I don't doubt it, as they were severely underprepared to establish a colony anywhere.) that most of them died pretty much right off the bat. Probably all of them would have died if they hadn't learned and adapted. And, of course, if they had not helped each other and accepted help from the native Americans in the area. So Thanksgiving (whenever that took place) was literally that... a time of giving thanks. Thank you native Americans for teaching us skills we didn't realize we'd need. Thank you neighbors for sharing. Thank you everyone for doing your part. Thank you God for not letting us die.
To me, that's what the holiday is about. At the Patwoman house, we do this thing that everyone pretends to hate, but no one opts out of. Before we eat, we go around the table and express our thankfulness for all that we have, all that we love, and all that we survived. This year, we had several new projects and growing projects for the business that were, at the same time, challenging and successful. Some of us had new jobs that we had to learn and train for and some took on new responsibilities in their current roles. We had stresses like health issues for T's parents. R and M both strengthened and deepened their personal relationships with their significant others--R and Bre even took it to the next level and got engaged to be married. And today, we were all together at the same table... healthy and happy. And thankful.
That's a universal feeling. Happy Thanksgiving.
posted by Patwoman | 11:00 PM
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