I think one of the main things I'm thankful for is that I was born in a time, place, and class where what I want often matters. On even a basic level: I can choose not to have turkey today, and my options are not starving or eating what we've managed to hunt and scrape out of the land this week. I can wash up strawberries: they're an indulgence, not an impossibility, this time of year.
I like holidays that focus on an idea -- on remembering our dead, on being glad for what we've got, on looking ahead to what we want to do, where we're going -- but I don't think they have to come out the same way every year. I think in some ways it's more powerful if they don't. And yet the first thing I'm thankful for is always the same: the people I love. I say it at other times, so I don't have to feel bad about "one day out of the year" blah blah: I'm always thankful for the people I love, because I have a kickass awesome set of people to love. I don't know anyone luckier than me in that regard. I don't think they exist. Happily, I know some people as lucky as I am in that regard, so the lack of total ordering serves us in good stead.
Happy Thanksgiving, folks.
I like holidays that focus on an idea -- on remembering our dead, on being glad for what we've got, on looking ahead to what we want to do, where we're going -- but I don't think they have to come out the same way every year. I think in some ways it's more powerful if they don't. And yet the first thing I'm thankful for is always the same: the people I love. I say it at other times, so I don't have to feel bad about "one day out of the year" blah blah: I'm always thankful for the people I love, because I have a kickass awesome set of people to love. I don't know anyone luckier than me in that regard. I don't think they exist. Happily, I know some people as lucky as I am in that regard, so the lack of total ordering serves us in good stead.
Happy Thanksgiving, folks.