I'm grateful for family.
Coming when it does - at the end of November, long after the audaciousness of leaves, when most have fallen and what remain on branches are crisped and brown, bronze, and russet - it's a reflective time.
I'm grateful for seasonal change.
There's so much that's scary and challenging in the world right now. And, while many parts of the world have been living this reality for too long, more and more people are waking up every day, committing to changing hearts and minds in communities.
For that, I'm grateful.
I'm sharing the Paul Simon youtube here because I've loved "American Tune" since I first heard it and it's something of a Thanksgiving Day classic in our house. His lyrics capture the heart of America - the impact of each individual, hard work, imperfection and compromise, heartbreak, poverty, struggle, immigration "in the age's most uncertain hour".
I'm grateful for the poets.
"Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Spanish Dance Troupe", shared with me by a longtime friend and artist in Virginia, is a happy little piece. It reminds me of the Hallowe'en party seven of us went to at that button factory in New Hampshire when we all dressed as the "Finalist Dance Troupe". Great memory - I want to live in this film's landscape because of it.
I'm grateful for faraway friends (and memory) and the abundant technologies available to me that keeps us connected.
And, finally, I'm sharing another song sent by a friend in Nova Scotia - it's Adele singing "Hello", accompanied by Jimmy Fallon and folks from SNL playing classroom (do they mean simple percussion?) instruments.
This joyful expression reminds me how grateful I am for teachers, the availability of public education in the US, and, especially, of the importance of making the arts available to all of our children.
What are you grateful for?