Things I love Thursday – Thanksgiving Edition

((That’s the Mayflower to the left in the background))

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We host for my family at my house every year and I’m just between cleaning and setting up and getting dressed (and wearing a gold star shirt) and waiting for people to arrive.

If you don’t already know, I live a town over from where this day all started. I feel conflicted a lot about it because while I recognize what today is about, we don’t really know what started it. There are people who object to thanksgiving. Natives has their relatives killed. The Pilgrims came and TOOK over and that gets glossed over.

You know what else gets glossed over? The fact that some states allow retail stores to be open today (Massachusetts does not). It’s funny the juxtaposition of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Say your thanks today so you can be materialistic and save pennies tomorrow. Maybe get crushed or be the crusher.

Today I’m thankful for warm sunny mornings, iced coffee in mason jars and egg sandwiches. I’m thankful for dreaming and wishing and making big plans to see and do. I’m thankful for words and fiction for being a huge part of my life. I’m thankful for every breath I’m allowed to take, for the fact that my feet still work and dance around and for my body for being my vessel. I’m thankful for my amazing friends and family all over the world. I’m thankful for Facebook (yes,
Really) for keeping me connected for faraway friends I may never otherwise see and connect with. I’m thankful for J who came into my life only a few months ago and has already made me feel so much. I’m thankful for snail mail and foot lotion and bubble bars from Lush. I’m thankful I have today off as a paid holiday because I’m lucky enough to have a full time job with benefits. I’m thankful I went back to school when I did (instead of waiting). I’m thankful for my word warriors and Francesca Lia Block who are the supportive writing community I didn’t know I created. And lastly I’m thankful to have an abundance of food on my table and heat to keep us warm during these cold days.

What are you thankful for?

Love,
Melanie Kristy

Things to be Thankful For & Happy Thanksgiving

(weheartit)

Most of my friends on Facebook have been posting daily lists of what they’re grateful for and I love reading those posts every day. I love seeing that people are taking time out of their days to recognize what’s good in their lives. That’s what Things I Love Thursday was about, and that’s what today, Thanksgiving (in America) is about. It stemmed with the pilgrims giving thanks to the Native Americans right down the street from where I live.

And you can be jaded and angry with how the English treated the Native Americans. I don’t blame you.  It’s a shitty thing to do to take over someone’s land, accidentally give them hundreds of diseases and kill most of them.

However, right now in 2011 that’s not what Thanksgiving is about anymore. And it feels a lot better to shift the focus and appreciate what you do have in your life.

Ashley Lorelle said it best when she said, “Remember this as a time to be thankful for what you have, not a time to lust after the things you want.”

(weheartit)

So here’s my list. I’m grateful for:
my family taking the day off today to cook and eat dinner tonight
tissues. they’ve gotten me through the past week
the fact that I have a job and I’m not one of the hundreds unemployed
friends with the same political views as me, because that’s the only time I talk about it (I’m not up for that political debate)
late trips to book stores
trying new Indian food
all the free coupons I have in my e-mail/ mail because of my birthday
finding an exfoliator that actually makes my arms feel normal
pumpkin pies
British accents
that I have the time to write a 50,000 word novel in November
the fact that I have working legs and eyes that see
my parents
I have a means of transportation
the home that I live in
and the opportunities I have

(weheartit)

And lastly, I’m thankful for all of you guys, my readers who clink on my posts through Facebook and Twitter, who have me in your Google feeds and who comment on my posts. You all make me feel like I’m not just talking to myself.

What are you grateful for today?

“America’s Hometown”

I grew up next to the town there it all started, and I currently work there. Plymouth, Massachusetts is where the “rock” is, it’s where the Mayflower (II) is docked. There’s the plantation where actors dress up as pilgrims and natives and spend entire days living the lives of the 1600s. In fact you can go to the plantation and attend a Thanksgiving Feast. It’s also the town where Native Americans plan protests of this very day.

When you live right down the street from Plymouth, you take for granted the amazing history that has taken place here. You roll your eyes at tourists, avoid the usual “traps” and live your lives as if none of this is important.

But the truth is; it is important. Thanksgiving is a national holiday built inside this very town. All of its history, all of the people who landed in Plymouth Massachusetts and decided to settle here have an impact on every single American reading this post. And honestly, I don’t even know half of the history. I recognize the names on gravestones in Burial Hill, I’ve seen certain statues and plaques a thousand times and still I could not name the importance of the statues that were built.

It’s a day we take for granted as an extra day off, the day to eat until you explode. Thanksgiving is a day spent in stressful situations, baking until you drop or worrying about certain family members drinking too many glasses of egg nog and taking the opportunity to really speak their minds. I have friends living in other countries who are taking the time to celebrate their American holiday.

Today is a day to be grateful for everything you have. While you’re sitting at your kitchen table wearily eyeing the in-law who’s on the verge of finishing a bottle of wine or if you’re serving your family heaps of mashed potatoes and stuffing, remember to be thankful. If you’re spending your evening working in retail, avoiding the people you don’t like or serving strangers their dinners remember to be grateful.

Be grateful for the people who came before us. Be grateful for the struggles we didn’t have to endure. Be grateful for your family members, the people who took the time to carve that turkey for you. Be grateful you are able to feed yourself and taste your food. Be grateful for each breath you are taking today.

And most of all, be grateful for Plymouth, America’s Hometown, because without it, you would not be here today in this moment with the opportunity to spend an entire day (or even just carve out a minute of your time) to reflect on what you have.

<3.Melanie.Kristy