Thanksgiving

Went out to Lisa and Dave’s for a real American Thanksgiving feast yesterday. The meal was nothing short of breathtaking! So was the wine. Thanksgiving is good and experiencing it in Conakry is even better. I’ve always liked Thanksgiving. It helps one keep things in perspective, especially for whiny decrepit old farts like me. But then, whining and complaining comes with the post middle-aged pre-eldership territorial stage of life.

I’ve never been one to do things half-fast, and so, if I’m going to be a decrepit old fart, I might as well be a good one. That’s why Thanksgiving is such a good thing for people like me. It forces me to take stock of all the things I am blessed with rather than victimized by. Like I said, experiencing Thanksgiving with a Conakry backdrop gives the day an added punch. Submerged in the despair that is Conakry makes my lucky stars brighter and more blatant.

So what do I have to be thankful for? Too many to list, so let me begin with the most important:

I’m thankful for being born in one of the richest and comfortable places on the planet, a place where there are sidewalks to walk on, roads to drive on, superb health care, transparent government, spectacular natural scenery, inexpensive education, and employment for people who want it.

I’m thankful for my past and for really having lucked in with the parents, the upbringing, and the childhood I’ve had...safe, free, structured, loving, and fun.

I’m truly thankful for the children I have...strong global citizens whose increasingly fervent social consciences will contribute in making their future world fairer, consequently better, and inevitably safer. Never afraid to explore new horizons and try new things, my two wonderful progenies never cease to amaze me. Needless to say, I envy their youthful curiosity, their exciting ambition and their zealous drive. Ok, I admit there are things that they do that I don’t envy and have no desire whatsoever of attempting before my expiration date on this planet...so what if spending a night in an igloo is not on my bucket list, or eating raw caribou meat in a plywood shack on the arctic circle...not for moi.)

And then there’s my life partner. What can I say?...an amazing human being who touches everyone she meets with her kindness, her empathy, her condoling attention and her loving heart. And after 30+ years together and despite my constant decline into grumpiness, my more often than not cynical and, yes I admit, warped sense of humor, and let’s not even mention those occasional weird noises and strange where-did-that-come-from odors that seem to appear when I’m around, ...she still loves me. No wonder my kids are so great...they take after their mother.

Yep, life is good on this Thanksgiving day.