Danke, Gracias, Merci, Thank You

I know you have heard this a thousand times before, but we have much to be thankful for.  Other than the whole pilgrim/turkey/pumpkin pie with whipped cream shindig, where much has been lost in translation over the years, I don’t think we have taken the time (I know personally I haven’t) to appreciate what may not appear to be “thanks-giving” to the naked eye.

Like the times your mom calls.  It seems she has called day and night, every hour on the hour, since you took wing and flew from the nest.  Imagine a time before answering machines, call waiting and e-mail and her diligence could be even more relentless… just to say hi and ask how your day was going.  It drove me nuts; I didn’t know why my mother was so persistent and why I missed it (and still do) when she wasn’t here to phone me anymore.  I should have been thankful and appreciate the fact that I had a mom that cared and took the time to connect with me.  Not all my friends were so lucky.

Eating leftovers may not be everyone’s idea of fine cuisine, but we should be thankful that we have more than enough to eat.  What some of us throw away, because it was “so yesterday”, could feed some families for a week.  I take for granted that for any given day there will be a breakfast, lunch and dinner awaiting me.  It is an option for me to “skip” a meal and common practice to pay exorbitant prices for “fine” dining –which I really don’t get, because it isn’t always that tasty, finely crafted or pleasantly displayed.  Odds and ends from previous days’ delights can be transformed into another culinary event, with little expense and half the effort… that in itself is more to be grateful for and besides, many things taste better the next day.

Kids may not get the full gist until they have something to compare it to (it may take decades), but a good education is not an everyday “thank you for this awesome opportunity that I will undertake to better myself” kind of thing.  Sitting through algebra class may seem dull and inapplicable to anything that has to do with anything of consequence in life, and the thought of why teach English to people who already speak it may come up once or twice. It will only sink in when a child (or an adult) sees someone who thought they knew everything and didn’t feel the need to get through high school and found a dead-end job paying minimum wage, may not of had the ways or means to go to school, or a lost soul with no inclination as to why an education was important, to understand how it all comes together.  Make a teacher's day, say thank you for all they do.

We do have much to be thankful for, we just have to see/feel/know it.  The ability to laugh at myself, indoor plumbing with a ready supply of soft two-ply paper and my family are things that I have taken for granted now and again.  The opportunity for travel, acne cream and clean clothes never have gotten the gratitude that they deserve.  Old friends and their commitment to secrecy, good neighbors and a passed down recipe have never properly been appreciated, thanked or treasured.

I see I have a long way to go… but I think I will start here and say thank you to you – for reading and sharing my column… see you next week – same place and time… looking forward to it!

Cynthia A. McClelland, curious observer of the obvious with interpretations of the oddities of daily life.  Mother, wife and lover of the furry, resides in the north Lake Tahoe area.

Cynthia A. McClelland © 2003-