Turkey Day
This week the US celebrates Thanksgiving. This would be my 3rd Thanksgiving here in New York and I still cannot seem to be able to relate. A turkey in the oven for me pretty much defines Christmas. Back home in Manila, we'd get the turkey as early as well, Thanksgiving and then the big bird would become for a while a permanent fixture in the freezer. And since I am an ice muncher, everytime I get icecubes (we do not have that icecube-dispenser-on-the-door kind of ref back home) the bird and I would sort of bond. Sometimes when I'd go home late at night and everyone else is in bed, it's nice to talk to the frozen bird about my day while I am prying icecubes from the tray.
"Hello, bird, I got caught in traffic today. Terrible mess on the Coastal Road. Someone was 'salvaged' (summarily executed...murdered!) and so someone who'd probably end up in some medical university's surgery class cutting table lay dead on the side of the road and messed up traffic."
Sometimes it would be, "what do you think of the way this country is being run, bird? Speak up or forever hold your silence."
An unopinionated bird is a pleasure to have as company. It can never be disagreeable. It never gets under your skin for either being too right, too left, or too middle of the road to get run over. It just sits there in the cold and listens, or pretends to. Until you shut the freezer door and move on to less important things.
The value of sharing a special day with people who matter most is evident with the fact that Thanksgiving is the biggest day for travelling in this country. The travel during the long weekend is marked by an increase of 54% compared to Christmas/New Year's (up only by 23%). In the Philippines, the exodus of people happens several times a year but nothing comparable to Semana Santa (Holy Week) because it's a 5-day weekend starting Holy Wednesday (unless Holy Wednesday falls on a Thursday which has not yet happened but if it did then it'd just be a 4-day weekend). In far second would be All Saint's Day where people go to the cemeteries to visit the grave of loved ones, some not necessarily saints and then Christmas.
"Hello, bird, I got caught in traffic today. Terrible mess on the Coastal Road. Someone was 'salvaged' (summarily executed...murdered!) and so someone who'd probably end up in some medical university's surgery class cutting table lay dead on the side of the road and messed up traffic."
Sometimes it would be, "what do you think of the way this country is being run, bird? Speak up or forever hold your silence."
An unopinionated bird is a pleasure to have as company. It can never be disagreeable. It never gets under your skin for either being too right, too left, or too middle of the road to get run over. It just sits there in the cold and listens, or pretends to. Until you shut the freezer door and move on to less important things.
The value of sharing a special day with people who matter most is evident with the fact that Thanksgiving is the biggest day for travelling in this country. The travel during the long weekend is marked by an increase of 54% compared to Christmas/New Year's (up only by 23%). In the Philippines, the exodus of people happens several times a year but nothing comparable to Semana Santa (Holy Week) because it's a 5-day weekend starting Holy Wednesday (unless Holy Wednesday falls on a Thursday which has not yet happened but if it did then it'd just be a 4-day weekend). In far second would be All Saint's Day where people go to the cemeteries to visit the grave of loved ones, some not necessarily saints and then Christmas.
I wonder though, if the message and significance of Thanksgiving is ever fully appreciated, if at all comprehended. My amazement is about how people could pause to reflect and give gratitude for their blessings only once a year. I go to mass every Sunday and give thanks for the blessings for the week. To mark the end of every day, I recall the wonderful things that I have had during the day and utter 'thanks' in a silent prayer just before I shut my eyes. To wait one year seem anti-climactic. For the obsessive compulsive like myself then that would mean bringing another notebook listing down things to be grateful for for Thanksgiving Year ####. Probably why some people tend to take for granted the good things that come their way... it takes them a while to be happy for them that they forget.
I was suppose to travel to San Francisco to be with relatives but cancelled at the last minute. Instead, I planned about staying home in my toasty apartment and packing for my travel home to Manila for the holidays. I will be having a peking duck with my aunt for lunch on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. On top of so many blessings, I will be most grateful for the gift of my beautiful daughter Nicole who will also be celebrating her birthday (November 25th).
No turkey until Christmas for me, which is the way it had always been, and no Spock (Gigi's silky terrier and perennial turkey fan) running around begging for his share. On Friday I will leave with my friends for Boston, a trip we decided on today, Tuesday while sitting around in the office shooting IM's back and forth. When we return, I'm dressing up the office for the holidays and organizing the company Christmas party. Then I will be homeward bound.
I was suppose to travel to San Francisco to be with relatives but cancelled at the last minute. Instead, I planned about staying home in my toasty apartment and packing for my travel home to Manila for the holidays. I will be having a peking duck with my aunt for lunch on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. On top of so many blessings, I will be most grateful for the gift of my beautiful daughter Nicole who will also be celebrating her birthday (November 25th).
No turkey until Christmas for me, which is the way it had always been, and no Spock (Gigi's silky terrier and perennial turkey fan) running around begging for his share. On Friday I will leave with my friends for Boston, a trip we decided on today, Tuesday while sitting around in the office shooting IM's back and forth. When we return, I'm dressing up the office for the holidays and organizing the company Christmas party. Then I will be homeward bound.
Let me share with you a favorite quote from an anonymous writer:
Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire,If you did, what would there be to look forward to?Be thankful when you don't know somethingFor it gives you the opportunity to learn.Be thankful for the difficult times.During those times you grow.Be thankful for your limitationsBecause they give you opportunities for improvement.Be thankful for each new challengeBecause it will build your strength and character.Be thankful for your mistakesThey will teach you valuable lessons.Be thankful when you're tired and wearyBecause it means you've made a difference.It is easy to be thankful for the good things.A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who arealso thankful for the setbacks.GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.Find a way to be thankful for your troublesand they can become your blessings.