Happy Thanksgiving

I must say, this week as all of my friends in the States posted their excitement about a break from classes and spending some quality time with loved ones, I felt a pang of envy.  This is the first Thanksgiving I will spend anywhere other than my Nana's farm in Vermont or, a couple times, my family's home in California.  It is also my first Thanksgiving without either my parents or my sister; when Kat was abroad, it was just Mom, Dad, and myself, and last year my sister and I traveled together to the farm while our parents celebrated in California.  This year, we are scattered:  Mom and Dad are being joined by a few friends in California, Kat is at the farm with the Hudkins clan, and I'm overseas.

I remember while we were visiting Kat in Ecuador over Christmas, she regaled us of tales of struggling to find ingredients and making odd substitutes in order to create a pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner at her host family's home.  Sadly, my teeny apartment lacks an oven, so I can't make all my beloved side dishes -- for me it's not about the turkey, it's about the scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, spinach artichoke bake, and good wine!  I'm contemplating trying to find a microwave recipe for scalloped potatoes, but given the fact that they take 1.5 hours to bake in the oven, I'm not holding my breath!

In spite of the fact that this will probably be the strangest Thanksgiving I celebrate in my life, I am trying to hold on to the spirit of the holiday and remembering to be grateful for all that I have.  I truly have so much to be thankful for:  supportive parents, a wonderful sister, a boyfriend who loves me, and incredible friends; the unique opportunity to study abroad and the ability to have a top-notch college education in the US; a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, clean water to drink, and warm clothing; enough money to buy all that I need and plenty that I want; I could go on and on.  Plus I am thankful for you, readers, for your support, for your advice, and for your cheering comments.

So today, dear readers, I may have a dinner of brown rice, chili, and Diet Coke over readings about the Holocaust instead of turkey, mashed potatoes, and wine with my beloved family, but that doesn't change the fact that I am utterly grateful for the many blessings of this life.  Sure, sometimes bad days come, and sometimes I'm lonely or angry or sad.  But when I have a bad day, I can always count on the fact that I can make tomorrow better.  When I'm lonely or angry or sad, I know that I have people who will help to pick me up, listen to me, dry my tears, and hug me for 36 hours (Steph!) or until I feel okay.  So here's to remembering the many gifts we are all blessed with, and here's to cherishing those blessings every day.  I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving.