Being Thankful

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. No pressure of giving holiday gifts. No pressure of having a Valentine’s Day sweetheart. Just a great time to get together and eat yourself into a food coma.

Many, many years ago, when my parents were still alive, we had a major family reunion at Thanksgiving. Always a risky proposition. We usually kept the holidays more contained, but this particular year, it was everyone. Aunts, nephews, cousins and of course my indefatigable, irascible grandmother. Four foot, eight inches of Armenian suffering stuffed into a pair of orthopedic shoes that could kick your butt from here to Mt. Ararat.

I was on a break from college. I hadn’t started planning events yet but knew that we needed some sort of activity to keep the party sane. My brother had a home video camera and we decided that we would interview all the family members — asking them what they were thankful for. It was fun to hear what family members said. “I’m grateful my nose isn’t as big as Uncle Shah’s….” “I’m thankful that Aunt Sonny makes the best choereg…” “I’m thankful that I could climb the 44 steps from the street to the front door — why did you buy this house, anyway?!” As we moved around our childhood home asking these questions, we were soon approaching Grandma. What was she thankful for? Her husband had died years back, she never wanted to live in this country, her kids had all moved away. What was going to come out of her mouth?

“Grandma, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?” She smiled at the camera and froze. She thought her picture was being taken. “Grandma, it’s a movie. Tell us. In your own words. What are you thankful for?” She very earnestly looked into the recorder and said, “I’m a happy for the family. And the helt…(translation: HEALTH) and I just wanna pizz.”

“What?!” my brother asked.

“I just wanna pizz. Pizz on the world. For everyone. Can we just get along with each other and have world pizz?!”

Thanksgiving was memorable that year. And for many years after that we played back that video — never again with that many family members together. But those of us that were together got a good laugh — and some tears — at seeing the family preserved for a moment in time — remembering we had so many things to be thankful for.

Fast forward — I inherited Uncle Shah’s nose, Aunt Sunny still makes the world’s best Choereg and my grandmother who is at peace now didn’t get her wish for world pizz. But I have never forgotten her Thank You’s. She really was thankful for her family and that her health allowed her to be with all of us.

Saying thank you is one of the most powerful things we can do.

Life is a series of events and we’ve all had a year of wondering when the next event is going to happen. Let’s be thankful for the good events when we have them.

What are you thankful for?