Thanksgiving Reflections

Today has been a Thanksgiving unlike any other. It is unbearable hot, and nobody even knows that it is Thanksgiving. My experience is kinda like the question that asks if a tree falls in the woods with nobody around does it still make a sound? I will be honest. That tree makes a sound, and it is still Thanksgiving even though nobody is celebrating over here! I always loved Thanksgiving because of the break from school. The break allowed me to prepare for one last push before the end of the semester. While in college and TFA, I never did any work during Thanksgiving break, and I loved that time just to be with family and to relax. After work I am going to celebrate Thanksgiving with some American missionaries. I am looking forward to that opportunity, but it will definitely be a different experience.

David Temfwe asked me today what the pilgrims were thankful for. Off the top of my head I told him two things: the process of settling safe in a new land and for their new friends in their new land. At which time, David told me that I am essentially a pilgrim because those two things are things for which I can definitely be thankful. I could definitely add to that list, but I thought that it was funny how similar the pilgrims thanksgivings and my thanksgivings are. Yeah so the pilgrims were definitely thankful for their harvest and hence the celebration, but I am also thankful for my bountiful harvest at Quicksave (the grocery store).

As I get older though I realize that the things that I am most thankful for are often times the simplest things in my life. Yes, we have definitely progressed as a society since 1621, but in other ways we are not unlike the pilgrims. The pilgrims were thankful for the simply necessities in their life, food, freedom, and friends, and I still find myself thankful for these very simply things. The problem, in my opinion, is that our thankfulness for the simplicities ends after November 26th. What if this thankfulness extended throughout the month of December? I think the holiday season would look very different if we consciously decided to extend our attitude of thankfulness throughout December. Hey, I struggle just like the next person with this, but it is just a thought. Give it a try!