Thanksgiving
The cursor is blinking at me
as I stare at that word sitting there at the top left corner of my blank Word
doc—the name of a day that snuck up on me, but is almost
here. It’s not like I haven’t known it’s coming. The day
on the calendar has been marked in bold and rehearsals for a Thanksgiving play
with awkward little 6th graders afraid to hold hands have been
a main staple in our school day for the last three weeks. And it’s
not like I can’t think of anything to be thankful for. Quite the
opposite actually—my thankfulness overflows and I don’t have to look far to
find things and ways to be thankful for and in each moment. If
anything, I’m having trouble organizing that thankfulness and trying to figure
out where to even start…
Thanksgiving is just days
away (or at least it was, as I was writing this initially. Now as I edit,
Thanksgiving is tomorrow). But it feels different this
year. For many reasons. And I struggle to start as I
often do when I sit down at my computer in this blog frame of mind, because I
want these words to mean something—and how much more so on/for/about a day all
about giving thanks…
A year ago, one of the
things that would have topped my thankful list would have been finally having a
break from school and tests and work and heading home for a week
off. I would have felt every one of those three months of school and
been more than ready for the break. While part of me wishes this
Thanksgiving offered a similar break and chance to go home, I’m moreso still
just in such a state of surprise and almost disbelief that three months of this
crazy adventure in Greece have already passed. Seriously, how can it be
Thanksgiving already?
Part of it could be the
weather (still sunny and pushing 70 most days J), which, especially when
you compare it with the 14+ inches of snow and cold at home doesn’t feel
especially “Thanksgiving-y”. And part of it could be the
environment. I’m not a student this year and I’m not quite a
teacher; I’m somewhere in between, but still in the place where the work is
hard and the days are long and time flies (partly because you’re having fun,
and partly because you’re just plain busy!). I’m also in Greece,
which is a state of being wrapped up in it’s own little bundle of thankfulness
and uniqueness and wonder…
Right now, I’m sitting
outside of the Starbucks that sits at the bottom of the hill leading to campus
and home for the last three months and the next eight. I’m enjoying
the “quiet” of cars zoom, zooming past on the busy street that greets me when I
lift my gaze from the screen, of muffled conversations flowing from that corner
table over there and that man on his phone to my left, of the muted, jazzy
music drifting quietly from the speakers I can see if I lift my gaze and crane
my neck up and slightly back. I’m enjoying the “stillness” of only
having to move my fingers across the keys. I’m enjoying the “freshness”
of the air and the “warmth” of the outside breeze and dimming night
sky. I’m enjoying the tired weight of “restfulness” that sits on my
shoulders and tugs at my eyes. It’s nice to have a day to pause and
reflect and look forward after weeks of go-go-go and before weeks of more.
I opened and saved a blog
file and called it “Marathon”. That happened two weeks ago today and
I’m still reeling from and feeling it. That file will stay blank yet
a while longer. I opened this file and called it “Thanksgiving”,
figuring I should get a jump on it now before the busy week ahead commences, if
I wanted even a chance at posting it in the same season as this day.
So here I am.
And I still don’t know how
exactly I want to continue. I’m still waiting to see where these
words will lead.
I’m thankful for words—words
that will take wing from my heart to the page, from here in Greece to you;
words from my family that fly across the sea in the sweet and thoughtful cards
they stamp and address my way, words that will at long last take wing back to
them on the postcards I finally got around to sending last week (keep an eye on
the mailbox ;) ) ; winged words and whispers that take the prayers of my
grateful and troubled heart to the One who’s always listening; words that
flutter back and forth with friends, across the table, across the classroom,
across the sidewalk, across Facebook messenger; words that rest their wings and
stay on the page, content to nest there for now and help me process the life that
is happening.
I’m thankful for my family
and for home. And I’m thankful for their support and understanding
as I spread my wings and fly this year. (You always manage to ground me,
no matter how many miles away I am.) I’m thankful for their concern and
their encouragement and their help. I’m thankful for the ability to
stay connected with them across the seas, to share this experience with them at
least virtually for now, until they can fly over here to share it with
me. (psssstttt! Book your tickets!!!!)
I’m thankful for old friends
who stay connected and offer a piece of home, no matter the time or the
distance that separates the times we talk.
And I’m thankful for new
friends, too, to live and work and share with in this adventure of a
lifetime. Who are there to grab coffee or try a new restaurant, to
try a new recipe and go to the store for the ingredients. Who are
there to go for a run with you then cheer you on at the toughest mile marker to
give you the momentum you need to finish strong. Who are there to
help you process, to offer advice, to be a friend. Who are there to
keep you sane on a bus full of kids, to laugh with at the antics of those
kids. Who are just there. Who help make this new place a
home for the time we are here.
I’m thankful for the
opportunity to be here. I’m thankful for what I’ve already done and
seen and experienced and I’m thankful for the many things that yet lay waiting
in store. I’m thankful for the ways in which I’ve grown from being
here, for what I’ve learned in this time—about me, about the world, about
life. About being thankful. I’m thankful for this season
I am in. For the chance and the time to be present in the moment, to
live life and live it to the fullest, to focus on the good.
I’m thankful for the freedom
to choose, even if the choosing isn’t necessarily easy.
And I’m thankful that you
don’t have to necessarily be thankful for everything, but that
you can look for and find a way to be thankful in everything…
Strive to be present, to have an attitude of gratitude.
On Thursday, as my family at
home, and perhaps your family, too, sits down together to enjoy a Thanksgiving
meal, try to be thankful in that moment, wherever you
are. Remember the people who might be absent from the chairs around
your table, and think about the people who won’t necessarily be able to focus
on their thanks with a plate full of turkey. Enjoy your meal and
enjoy your day with loved ones—and have an extra slice of apple pie for
me J
On Thursday, as you eat
turkey and stuffing and cornbread and pie, our sixth graders will be putting on
a school play, as we share a piece of the Thanksgiving pie here in
Greece. If you want to read the whole thing, let me know, but out of all of it, the last lines jump out to me--they resonate; and I
want them to resonate for you, too; so I’ll just end with these final
thoughts and leave them here for now:
“Today we give
thanks, for in thanks there is giving, and if we are sharing and caring, every
day can be cause for Thanksgiving!”… Every day is cause for thanksgiving—so
let’s give thanks, now shall we:
We are thankful for new
friends and for our old friends, for the power of acceptance.
We are thankful for
people we meet, that don’t even know us yet show us great kindness.
We are thankful for small
mercies and the kindness of strangers, compassion that can conquer all.
We are thankful for
sharing and connecting to our fellow humans, for knowing empathy.
We are thankful for the
steps that have brought us this far.
We are thankful for the
people who have gone before us, who have made this moment possible, and we look
forward to the journey ahead, praying we can face it with strength and courage,
with family and friends. With thanks. And with giving.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
~*~
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