So tomorrow is Thanksgiving and today we are going to brave the supermarket to get everything we need for our mini-feast. We are going to have pork loin with jalapeño gravy, bourbon sweet potato mash, garlic mashed potatoes, tomato and green bean salad, and stuffing. For dessert we are making an old fashioned donut bundt cake. Yum!
R and I have been thinking and talking a lot about how we want to raise our kids. One of the things that comes up is all the issues and hostility in the world and how we will talk to them about it. One of the things I feel strongly about is not teaching them about the pilgrims as these brave amazing souls that peacefully colonized this country, because that just isn't true. They massacred people, they took part in genocide.
What I do want to teach them is that we can take Thanksgiving and make it about being thankful about what we have while still not celebrating the pilgrims. Besides, that is what Lincoln intended when he made Thanksgiving a national holiday.
I also want to teach them about oppressed groups (of course at the proper age), and perhaps at Thanksgiving we could all volunteer together. R and I already want to volunteer and we haven't yet due to my health, but we are thinking of volunteering in campaigns for the 2020 election. We also want to help at a homeless shelter (there are so many in San Francisco!).
I really want our kids to feel safe, to not have anxiety, but to also be aware that there are more people in the world than just us. That there are people who are struggling and that we need to do what we can to help them. I honestly think kids naturally have so much compassion, so I don't think getting them to help others will be hard. I do think that if we don't take the time to foster that in our children, it is easy for that selflessness and compassion to be overshadowed by other things.
This year, I'm thankful for R. That he isn't just my lover and partner, but also my best friend. I'm thankful for the pups and how just them existing is healing for me. Im thankful for my therapist. I'm thankful for our wonky little house. I'm thankful for our state and its representatives and for all the people who are fighting the wildfires and helping all the families and animals that have been displaced. I'm thankful for my in-laws and how supportive they are when we are at rock bottom. I'm thankful for my nephews and nieces. I'm thankful that we have started the process of having a baby and that our doctor is amazing and really understanding of my mental health issues and anxiety. I'm thankful for cold weather, and that I haven't had a bad flare up in awhile. I'm thankful for the meds and marijuana that save my life every day. I'm thankful for all the kind and compassionate people in the world. I'm thankful for my online friends. I'm thankful that I'm an empath even though at times it can be very draining. I'm thankful that I've started writing again. For amazing artists like Henri Matisse, John Berryman, and Mary Oliver who inspire me to create. I'm thankful for nature and its immense and unceasing beauty. I'm thankful for good books, good food, adventures with R, and a good nights. I'm also thankful for Chex mix and hot cocoa. 😂
What are some things you are thankful for?
