I was away working last weekend, so I wasn't really thinking of Thanksgiving as a holiday. I usually work right through October, so a proper Thanksgiving celebration only happens by chance. Sometimes a little late, like the one I had this year. But with or without the dinner, I'm still thankful for things that happened and those that didn't.
Things happen and things don't. Whether they happen or fail to because of our own skills and planning, because of stochastic processes, or because of an omnipotent being, I am grateful when the right things happen and the wrong things don't. Neither history, nor science, not even religious texts seem to indicate that gratitude or the lack thereof has great influence on what happens and what doesn't, but I still have gratitude. The engines turned when I needed them to. The electricity flowed when I depended upon its service. The ice and the air and my wings did not interact in a way that had a disastrous effect on my flight. Over the years, the malfunctions that have occurred in flight did so after sunrise, within single-engine fuel range of a usable airport, once I was clear of IMC, when I had sufficient altitude, or before I was too tired. I saw what I needed to, and am surrounded by those who look out for me. I am grateful.
Also, you will find it hard to convince me that there is a better way to eat leftover turkey than cold, with my fingers, while standing in front of an open refrigerator.
P.S. to foreigners: Thanksgiving is a post-harvest festival that Canadians celebrate on the second weekend of October. It's not a public spectacle or a commercial event (for places other than grocery stores), just something you do in your home. People with normal jobs get a day off work on the Monday, but family or groups of friends will get together on any of the weekend days for a meal, usually involving roast turkey and seasonal vegetables, especially squash. If you're crafty you can score two or even three turkey dinners over the weekend, and everyone eats turkey sandwiches, turkey soup and turkey salads for a week afterwards.
4 comments:
Sliced cold turkey on white bread with mayonnaise, sprinkled with pepper with a Coke on the side. Warmed up dressing with cranberry sauce over it next to the sandwich and a pumpkin pie slice with whipped cream on the side. That's my day after Thanksgiving lunch while I watch football and ignore all the Black Friday sales, since most of my shopping has been done online in by then.
Americans (I mean people living in the US) celebrate Thanksgiving in November, but I'm glad you reminded us that at least once a year, or probably much more frequently, we ought to count our blessings and feel gratitude for the many ways things have gone right for us.
Re turkey eating: I generally shut the refrigerator door and eat mine over the adjacent counter, with my reading material propped up on the toaster oven. But that's a detail; we agree on the important parts!
Happy Thanksgiving! One more orbit around the hearth star and all is well.
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