Simple Gifts-An American In London Thanksgiving Edition

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. 

-Elder Joseph 

I am thankful for so many things this year.  First and foremost I am so happy and thankful to still be in the United States for Thanksgiving.  One of the first things I thought about when J mentioned November 1 as a move date was that I would miss Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  Growing up it was the holiday during which my Grandparents Howe would come to town.  Since my parents had moved to the east coast while the majority of our extended family was in the mid-west, I was always excited for any occasion that warranted a visit.  But here we were moving to a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving.  Heck, they don't even have turkey readily available.  And I am sorry, but Thanksgiving celebrated with a chicken is just not the same.  I hear it is possible to find restaurants that serve 'Thanksgiving Dinner' to American tourists and ex-pats but they charge you an arm and a leg for less than an arm and a leg! As it turned out, my move date was pushed back to December 1 and here I am, out on Long Island, celebrating Thanksgiving. 

I am thankful for suitcases with wheels as it made my Manhattan Magical Mystery Tour manageable and saved me from a hernia at age 31.
I am thankful to the programmers at HGTV who are honestly, a little lazy I think; but whose laziness ensures that House Hunters is on whenever nothing else on my 800 channels of television looks good.  Also, thank you for upping the ante with House Hunters Renovation.
I am thankful for Daniel Day Lewis.  Period.
I am thankful for this year's Penn State Football team led by coach Bill O'Brien.  Their performance under pressure, on and off the field has been admirable.  Michael Mauti, I would give you my knees, but I don't think you'll want them in the condition they are in.
I am thankful for the conductors on the LIRR who have only intermittently checked for tickets over the past 3 weeks.  My 10 ride fare has lasted me twice that.
I am thankful that my dad and I got one of the last trains out of Penn Station last night before the MTA suspended service and all hell broke loose.  Seriously MTA and ConEd??  On the busiest travel night of the year for LIRR/NJ Transit/Amtrak?  Seriously??
I am thankful for all of the hardworking linesmen who have been on the job non-stop since Sandy hit.
I am thankful for all of the first responders, many of whom came home to greater destruction than they had left.
I am thankful to the National Guard and the Army Corp. of Engineers for making right what Sandy put wrong.  I am sure sitting at a stop light monitoring the generator that is keeping it powered was never what the young person who signed up for the National Guard thought he'd be doing to maintain national security, but it's appreciated.
I am thankful to all my baby-having friends.  I am thankful for all of the baby faces that fill my Facebook News Feed everyday.  NYC can be a pretty cynical place, but the moment I see a little baby face it is hard to be a cynic.  Video is even better.
I am thankful for all of the opportunities that lie ahead and all that I am leaving behind.  I have lived in NYC for 9 years and that time has not been wasted.  No matter the experience, good or bad, I am happy to have had it as it has led me to where I am now.  I am thankful for the friends and acquaintances that I have made along the way.  People come and go from our lives, but the impact of their time with us is forever.

I am thankful for my family's support during this time of change for J and I.  When I talked to a stranger 3.5 years ago, I would never have thought that this is where that interaction would lead me-but here I am and I am so grateful I stopped and said, ever so eloquently, "What?"/ stink face.

I am thankful that I live in a country that celebrates Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for what it is intended to be and for the spirit behind it.  

See Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863

I know that wherever I may live I will always keep the tradition of this day.  And I will always, even if it means FedEx-ing poultry or going on the turkey black market, have turkey.  Thanksgiving goose??  That's downright un-American.

They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

-President Abraham Lincoln