No Thanksgiving over here in the UK. For the first couple years, Char and I made the effort to recreate the famous feast in a mini celebration across the pond. It was fun, but not sustainable.
When you live abroad, it's difficult to keep the Turkey Day tradition alive. It's just such a non entity over here that you actually forget all about it until you wake up and see "Happy Thanksgiving!" all over Facebook. We're already in full-on Christmas mode. The German markets are up. The carols are blasting over every shop's sound system. I'm brainstorming present ideas (hint: you get a pair of socks, you get a pair of socks, everybody gets a pair of socks!!!!).
Instead of stuffing a bird and stuffing my face, I'm busy collecting memories and evidence for 'Murder in Kenmore: Part 2', which will be out next week. I was going to post Part 1 and Part 2 back to back, but I realised I had some actual journalism to do to make sure I was getting all the facts, opinions and speculations right.
Anyhoo, in the spirit of T-Giving, why don't I share what I am thankful for? Oh, but I'm not going to do boring things like "my family" and "my health". Those are obvious. Instead, I'll go for a sitting-here-on-the-couch, want-to-write-this-quickly, stream-of-consciousness approach.
Things I am thankful for:
My reusable, apple-print grocery bag from QFC.
The fuzzy warmth of a new hooded sweatshirt that's only been washed a couple of times.
The US Postal Service and the Royal Mail, without which these beloved photos would have never made it to my kitchen door.
A heater for drying clothes and keeping warm. Seriously, this one's a biggie. I take for granted the fact that warm air just comes out of a thing on the wall whenever I tell it to. When we first moved in I was warming myself by the heater after a shower and I burnt my bare bottom. There were grill marks on my left buttock. But I'm even thankful for that learning experience.
OK, I'll admit it. Those were just items that I could see and photograph whilst sitting on the couch. I didn't have to move a muscle. But the point we can take away is: I'm thankful for everything!
If you're reading this, then you're probably one of the 12.55% of the population to be born above the poverty line in a first world country. We hit the jackpot. Sure, I whine sometimes—when the sink gets clogged, when Serial takes a week off or when I just can't handle all the GODDAMN CLUTTER. But I'm going to try to do it less. I'm already better at not-whining than I was a few years ago.
Alright, I got to go. I need to whip up that most traditional of Thanksgiving dishes: gnocchi with peas and a creamy parmesan sauce. YUM.
Love,
Margaret
Margaret
