The Thanksgiving Episode

I'll just begin with a brief disclaimer. I have not given up on blogging - it just happens to be board meeting season and I haven't had a spare second. Literally. In addition, I've actually written this post twice only to burst into tears so I've left out most of the sentimental Thanksgiving memories - better to reflect during a less stressful time. Anyways, on with the show.

There are few things that you can count on in the world of television. People die and come back. Series will jump ahead in time, or sometimes recast a character out of the blue (soap operas, I'm looking at you). However, one shared trait amongst most long-running American television series is the Thanksgiving episode. Now, I know this doesn't apply to every show. "24" would have to have a whole season of Thanksgiving episodes and "Survivor: Puritan New England" doesn't have the same draw that an exotic locale would. But for a lot of tv, the Thanksgiving episode is a consistent treat.

"Friends" had quite a few of them. "Gossip Girl" is almost on its third. Even "Heroes" had one. Thanksgiving offers the unique opportunity for a television show to explore family dynamics in an authentic setting. There is no need to strand two characters in an elevator for dramatic conflict - instead, let them be drawn together by those invisible bonds of familial obligation!

I am not writing this post out of a love for television. In fact, the only tv I've watched on the tv set since moving to South Africa is "Morning Live" - one of South Africa's morning news programs. What I do love, however, is comparing life to a television show. I often joked with friends in college that our lives were like a big television show - one season, a character would go missing (usually to take a semester off or to study abroad). In another season, a supporting character would suddenly be thrust into a dramatic romance and the fallout would take over everyone's lives.

My Thanksgivings of late have served more for entertainment value than for holiday feel-goodness. Thanksgiving used to be one of my favorite family holidays - my Aunt Kathy's pumpkin pie, my mother's obsession with us all wearing "Thanksgiving outfits," Grandma's need to have "real butter" on her potatoes and staying late into the evening to play games with Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy. But after my Uncle Mike and Grandma passed away, the family seemed to lose its motivation to celebrate the holiday. I personally have not had family Thanksgiving in 6 years I think.

Regardless, it is a great time to reflect on what we're thankful for. It's also a great opportunity to recognize Native Americans - a cause very near to my heart. We all know that I'm obsessed with Pocahontas, but it goes a bit deeper than that. After my freshman year of college I volunteered for a few weeks on a Lakota Sioux reservation in Mission, South Dakota. Though I spent the first week harboring a bit of resentment (imagine me, weighed down with power tools, attempting to fix a wheelchair ramp in the 100 degree sun while a bunch of old Methodist women try to further enslave me and you'll have a picture of a typical day), I eventually learned to love the culture.

I know Thanksgiving is seen by quite a few people as a lie to cover up the genocide that settlers committed with regards to Native Americans, but I think that is a bit off base. I'm not disputing the severity of the damage that European settlers did - I just think that Thanksgiving, regardless of its origins, serves as such a great tool to educate young Americans on Native Americans and to keep their history alive. Why eliminate something if it has the ability to do good?

Anyways, I did not mean to get all political. My real purpose was just to list some things I am thankful for and to get back in that blogging groove. So here I go!

This year, I am most thankful for:
-My wonderful family.
-My fantastic friends all over the world.
-My job! Who would have thought I'd be saying that? My how things change. But I truly love coming to work each day.
-Along those lines, I am so thankful for my colleagues - everyone from my boss to the tea lady has been so welcoming and it is such a privilege to spend my days with them.
-South Africa! Though I question some things here (do people reeeeeally need to try to sell you something at every single intersection? is it logical for the word "shoo" to mean yes, no, wow, I'm sorry, and also function as a sigh? does every single person have to ask me if I've met a "hot chick" in our very first conversation?), it really is a magical place full of so much excitement.
-Furthermore, I am thankful for the super-cool city of Johannesburg. I was expecting a slumland and instead I ended up in one of the most beautiful, exciting, and diverse cities I've ever been to. I am not, however, thankful for the obnoxiously bad road planning, the abundance of potholes, and the lack of a decent brand of canned pasta. (Chef Boyardee, where are you???)
-Pinotage. South African wine is a thing of beauty, particularly this delicious blend.
-Books, video games, and running shoes. Provide me with my three favourite hobbies.
-Serena Williams and Beyonce, obviously.
-Country music Christmas carols. You know you love them.
-And one final shout out - to my cleaning lady. Though I am convinced you are a spy and I may start putting mousetraps on top of my entertainment center if you unplug my xbox again, I must admit that it is so nice to come home to a clean house and ironed clothing every wednesday.

-I'm also thankful that in one week I'll be flying into New York City and then will be home in Meadville two days later to celebrate Christmas, do puzzles with my mom, force my brother to see New Moon and play Mario Bros., once again try to learn how to cook from my dad, and to catch up with friends. It should be the best month ever.

It's funny how that when you're happy everything else in life seems so much better. Last year, I was worried about going home for Christmas because I feared nothing would be able to get me on the plane to go back to my job. When I did have to leave home, I cried the whole way to the airport and then seriously considered "accidentally" missing my flight. This year, I'm so looking forward to coming home because I really feel like I've earned a break and I'm so excited to recharge so that I continue to have such a fantastic time working. What a blessing.

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday - please excuse this less than thrilling post.

:) Mike