Happy Thanksgiving, from our house to yours.
We celebrated with my family yesterday, which is always wonderful. The cousins love getting together, and as they have grown, watching them play has only proved to be increasingly entertaining.
Our newly three year olds had a new understanding this year of Thanksgiving, and what we are celebrating. In our family, we focus on love, family, and just being together. I tried to give them a quick overview of what it means to be thankful, just as I’m sure they covered it at school.
This year, at school, they had a class Thanksgiving snack. Both classes sat together at one long table, and shared a snack of traditional Thanksgiving fare- including turkey, carrots, and grapes. The teachers sent out a couple of pictures of the event, and the kids were so excited to tell me all about it.
As we have spent the holiday reflecting on all the things we are thankful for, it’s hard not to also think of those less fortunate.
In particular, this year, we’re thinking of Puerto Rico, and all of the devastation they are still experiencing. Why Puerto Rico? We are flying into San Juan in the beginning of 2018, to board a cruise, and head off into paradise. I’m having a hard time processing this. We’re headed into an area that is struggling to get even close to normal- for vacation. On the one hand, it feels wrong. On the other hand, I know that most likely the best thing I can do is to go down there, and spend our money, hoping it helps them get back on their feet.
Our original plan was to get there a few days early, so TT Dad could see a customer of his that he hasn’t been to see in years. We were recently notified, however, that the hotel was unable to honor our reservation, and it would be cancelled. From the sound of it, most hotels were having to cancel reservations through January, and/or February, at this point. FEMA is using the hotels to house people who are working on disaster relief and recovery.
We spent a week without power during an unusual Halloween snow storm, years ago. One week, and that was plenty. Hurricane Maria was in September, and 45 days later, only 41% of Puerto Rico had power. 45 days.
As I sit here, curled up on my couch, watching Hallmark Holiday movies by the light of our Christmas Tree, I am eternally grateful. Not only for the things I appreciate every day- my immediate and extended family, the furkid that somehow still loves us, even though he gets left behind more than not, my husband who works so hard to provide for his family, my two adorable and kind-hearted children, my amazing set of friends, located throughout the country- and world… I’m also grateful that we live a very comfortable life, and have so many opportunities to see the world, and to experience other cultures. Finally, I’m grateful that we’re able to help those less fortunate than we are.