Thanksgiving Blessings

Thanksgiving: An annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. The holiday commemorates a harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621, and is held in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. [Oxford American Dictionary]

Like every holiday, Thanksgiving is celebrated as diversely as the families that make up America. Some people have a clam bake/sea food feast, while others celebrate with a backyard barbeque, while others celebrate with an “old-fashioned” turkey and stuffing feast. And just like the diversity of the celebrations, the meaning behind the holiday is unique to each person and family. Some like to consider it the beginning of the “holiday season” that begins with Thanksgiving and ends with New Years, some like to bring up the historical significance, but I think most think of Thanksgiving as a time for reflection of the past year, and spending time with friends and family.

My family was a “traditional” Thanksgiving family. Although the venue changed every year, I generally would spend my Thanksgiving’s at my grandparents houses, stuffing myself with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberries, sweet potato casserole, rolls, and at Grandma Hill’s house, the all important jellos. I almost always spent it with my grandparents, parents, siblings, and a various array of aunts, uncles, and cousins (whoever was able to make it to town). As we got older, we spent more of our time in different states, with significant others families, and on trips. The past few Thanksgivings I spent the mornings at a homeless shelter serving breakfast and in Chicago with my dad, brother, and Bruce Barber.

I have had a lot of memorable Thanksgivings, with good food and family warming my memories. Although I might not remember all the details of the day, I hold with me the feeling of happiness as I laugh with my Menefee/Thompson cousins at the “kids table” (we aren’t allowed to move up to the grown up table until we get married or have kids of our own, and no one has taken that next step yet) shoveling grandma’s jello in our mouths for more, and listening to my grandparents tell stories of years past around the Butterfield Thanksgiving table decorated with candles and leaves. This was of course after waking up to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade full of wonder at those giant balloons reminding me as a child that the sky’s the limit.

Last year was the first year that I spent Thanksgiving away from my parents and it was more difficult than I was expecting. I was still getting settled into site, and I had just received a new site mate. I was struggling to get into a groove at school and my community, and although I had made friends in my fellow volunteers, we were still in our “no travel outside of site for a night” rules, and so I was not able to take much comfort in them. However, with their help and the blessing of technology to connect with family back home, I made it through the holidays just a little bit stronger.

This year I have been at site for more than a year. I have gotten into a groove at school and at my house. I have made friends at site and I will be with my fellow group members for Thanksgiving, as we have a training the weekend of Thanksgiving. With all of these things, I am still feeling homesick over missing this holiday. 2 of my siblings are not living in New Mexico and they are not going home for Thanksgiving, making this the first Thanksgiving that my parents will spend with neither of their children. This might be a difficult holiday for all of us, as we adjust to the changes that naturally happen when people grow up. It helps me to know, however, that next Thanksgiving I will be back on US soil with my family.

As I deal with being away from home for another Thanksgiving, I am forcing myself to reflect on the many blessings I have in my life. Thanksgiving for me is a day to be thankful for everything in your life, no matter how small it may seem. Everyone has something to live for, even if you don’t always see it. Although you should be thankful everyday, it can be difficult to really remember that. Thanksgiving is a day to reflect on your own life, what has brought you to where you are, and to say an extra prayer of thanks for those things that help you along day to day.

I have had some difficult days over the past 17 months (Yup, I have been in Ethiopia for 17 months!) and there have been a lot of days where I don’t feel like I’m blessed at all. There are days where as us Peace Corps Volunteers say “Some days you just have to let Ethiopia win,” and I have had plenty of them. But, I have also had days where I never want to leave and my smile seems permanently engrained on my face. Where I remember those small moments mean the most.

Although I have lots to be thankful for, here are some of things that stand out to me as I count my blessings this Thanksgiving/Holiday season:

-       Hanging out with Peace Corps friends on American holidays

-       The post office, and receiving random cards and letters

-       When my Internet stick actually works, and Facetime to connect with my friends and family

-       My gobez students who pay attention in class and answer questions

-       Hot tea, fuzzy blankets, and my Kindle during rainstorms, especially when the power goes out

-       All the media on my hard drives, and the fact I can get new media from other volunteers

-       My land family who calls me their daughter, makes me feel at home, and cheers me up when I need it

-       My siblings

-       Playing volleyball and soccer with my fellow teachers and neighborhood kids

-       My neighborhood kids who welcome me home with smiles on top of the huge hill

-       My post office guys who stop me on the street to tell me I have mail

-       My own safety, both in my community and in the country I live in- the rest of the world might be unstable, but I feel content

-       The fact that I had the educational opportunities that I did, especially since I am a female

-       My absolutely incredible family, especially my parents, siblings, and grandparents!

-       My Chi Omega sisters who make me feel loved, appreciated, and supported and who encourage and inspire me everyday

-       My Peace Corps friends who pick me up when I’m feeling down and who help me when I’m going through things only they can understand

-       The support of my friends and family here and back home, all the time

-       The girls who come to my events and clubs, and who are wanting and willing to help other girls break through the gender roles this society has built for them

-       Music that helps me in whatever mood I’m in

-       The Peace Corps Kindle file that has given me more books to read than I will ever have time to, and my Kindle that lets me read books- everywhere, anytime

-       Time to read and enjoy the little things

-       Jebena buna, fresh injira, and hot sambusas

-       Well cooked Ethiopian food, especially tagamino, tibs, and special fuul

-       My students who make me laugh with their silly sayings, their own laughter, and their willingness to make a fool of themselves

-       The smile and laughter of an Ethiopian toddler as they play with something as simple as a wooden stick or a balloon for hours

-       Being welcomed into a house with open arms and a smiling face of someone you have never met

-       Getting to connect and talk to my parents almost every week

-       Care packages from friends and family with American food and happiness

-       The opportunities I have been afforded in this life

-       The fact that I live in a country where it’s totally normal for a 2.5 year old to be drinking sewa (an alcoholic beverage) at 8:30 at night

-       The chance that I had to go home and visit America, my friends, and family this summer

-       My fellow teachers who help explain things when I’m feeling frustrated with the education system

-       My own teachers in America who helped inspire me to love learning and have helped me grow as a person and teacher in the classroom and out of it

-       Random people on the street who step in when kids are following me yelling “money” or “firenji”

-       The Peace Corps Education team who works so hard to make sure things work out for us, and are most of our saviors here on a daily basis. Thanks Dan O, Zebib, Taye, and Ayu!

-       Coloring with my compound kids on a cool summer evening

-       Reading in my compound with the smell of buna around me in the evening

-       Getting my name called by every student in a school shift as I leave school with them after flag ceremony

-       My Counterpart who helps me in all my adventures and projects

-       The kids who run up to me just to get a fist bump or a twirl

-       Getting to hug my cousin after he got in an awful accident and we weren’t sure whether he would make it

-       Actually being called my name instead of “firenji”

-       Being invited to weddings by community members

-       A cold beer with Peace Corps friends

-       Cheese, when I have it

-       The waitresses at my favorite restaurants that know my order before I order it

-       The internet café guy who doesn’t charge me as much as he is supposed to

-       The kids who are willing to help me carry things home from the post office and market

-       My market ladies who I go to every week and give me the best food

-       Having the chance to shop at such a colorful market where I know exactly where my food is coming from

-       Business owners who greet me with a smile and a hand shake whenever I come in to buy food or eat a meal

-       The fact that I’m living in this really cool and awesome place and being given this amazing opportunity to learn and grow

-       Sunrises through the fog on Saturday mornings on the walk to special fuul

-       Sunsets in the evenings on cool walks through town

-       Getting safe and sound to your destination after a bus ride

-       Bus drivers who actually go the speed limit, don’t stop randomly, and get you to your destination in a timely yet safe manner

-       Redats who don’t over charge

-       Walking home with my students and getting to talk with them as friends instead of teacher and student

-       Having the opportunity to help my students, especially my girls grow and develop into amazing students and human beings

-       I know I have said this one already, but my INCREDIBLE AND AMAZING parents and siblings who have been there for me through it all and who I would not be doing this without them

As Thanksgiving comes and goes and the holidays approach, I hope that you will be able to count your blessings as well. Days may be difficult and times might seem bleak. As the news from around the world seems to just get more sad and depressing, it might seem like there is no light and that people stink. And yes, some of that is true. But I bet if you stop to look around, you have more to be thankful for than you will ever realize until you decide to pay attention to the good things. As I have been reminded many times recently, life really is short. You don’t know what day will be your last. So wake up every morning with a sense of greatness and go to bed with a sense of happiness. Hug your friends and family a little tighter this holiday season, tell them how appreciative you are of them, be grateful for all the things in your life that make you smile, and remember how great it is that you are able to keep on breathing.