Disclaimer: I acknowledge that this is not an official Department of State publication, and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright U.S. Student Program or the Department of State or the Fulbright Foundation in Greece.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Attitude of Gratitude

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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