Recently, a well-meaning friend of mine berated me for not planning to do a full-blown, traditional Thanksgiving meal at my house for me and my nine-year-old daughter. She felt that by not partaking in this annual American ritual, was somehow contributing to my child’s inevitable social ineptitude. (When my grandmother hosted Thanksgiving at her house, what ensued was fights over who could and couldn’t cook and veiled insults on parenting skills, followed by all of the male family members adjourning to the living room to watch football, whether they liked it or not, and then tired parents and cranky kids driving home well past bedtime. This practice eventually fell by the wayside.)
Having been successful in previously raising a very socially well-adjusted, graceful, courteous daughter who has participated in a range of cultural activities, I decided that keeping my tradition of taking advantage of what the Smithsonian has to offer on the fourth Thursday in November would stay. I prefer to use all 365 days each year to consider what I’m thankful for.
Here are just a few things for which I’m thankful:
I’m thankful to live in a society which allows me freedom. When thanksgiving rolls around each year, we all get that mental image of Norman Rockwell’s famous painting of the family seated around the dinner table, with Grandma bringing a huge, beautifully prepared turkey to be carved up and served. This, however, was only one of four depictions that Rockwell painted. He covered three others: freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and freedom from fear.
I’m thankful to be able to turn on the tap and get clean drinking water.
I’m thankful to be able to send my children to public school without having to deny them the chance because they’re girls.
I’m thankful to have been raised by parents who remembered what hard times really were, and loved me so much they taught me how to survive if hard times came back.
I’m thankful to be able to be able to read and write, and to be permitted to do so if and when I choose.
I’m thankful to have a roof over my head and clothes on my back. I’m especially thankful that I’ve been able to provide them myself.
I’m thankful to be employed. In this time when so many are losing their jobs, I’m thankful to still have one, especially one that allows me to continue to enhance my skills so that, if need be, I can be flexible and use my skills to continue to earn money if I lose my current job.
I’m thankful to have a family that has taught me that, in order to know where I’m going, I need to know where I came from.
I’m thankful to be able to pay for my child’s school lunch. When my nine-year-old daughter misguidedly told me that she thought I was being punished for having a job by being charged for school lunch, I explained to her that it is a privilege to be able to afford this luxury; many don’t have it so well.
I’m thankful to have been able to return to college. Mom and Dad, I promised I would, and so I have. I’m thankful to have been able to fulfill a promise both to you and myself, no matter how late in life.
I’m thankful to have been able to see so many leaps and bounds in technology. In my lifetime so far, we’ve gone from black-and-white television and rotary dial phones to LCD HDTV, iPads/Pods/Phones. Kids have gone from sending Morse code on the living room blinds like an Aldis lamp (remember that?) to texting.
I’m thankful for the Internet. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what an Aldis lamp is, it’s on Wikipedia.
I’m thankful to have the opportunity to meet new people every day. Metro may not be at the top of its game, but you meet people from all over the world during a 40-minute trip.
I’m thankful for the freedom not to do something if I choose.
I’m thankful to be from, and live in, the nation’s capital. Whether you call yourself and native Washingtonian, and Washington native, or a District native, you know that you have a unique place in the world. There are so few of us that can lay claim to this, so capitalize on those bragging rights.
Above all, I thank God for making all of this possible. Which God? Thanks to Him (MY CHOICE), I have the freedom to choose.
So, whatever you plan to do tomorrow, take each day to be thankful for what we’ve been given in life no matter how small or insignificant it might seem to you. Help others, especially children and young folks see that thanksgiving means the giving of thanks—no more, no less; no matter how, or when, or to whom.
