Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving this year was somewhat odd... it is the first year that it was just the both of us, last year, we had a housefull of people, with my parents and brother visiting from Malaysia and Jonathan's mother and her husband coming in from Savannah, GA... we also had several neighbors who did not have family nearby to spend Thanksgiving with, we always try to invite people who are alone over the holidays to share it with us because I can only imagine how awful it must be to not have anyone to share the holidays with!

In any case, I was not to be detered, I wanted to keep the tradition going even if it were just the two of us! As with last year, my planning/timing was horrendous, dinner was served at 6 pm! I cooked a 11 pound turkey with apple and sage sausage dressing, potato gratin and apple pie for dessert, since it was only the 2 of us, I did not bother too much with balancing the ratio of carbs/protein/fiber etc :). It all turned out yummy but since I am not a fan of turkey, we had tonnes of leftover... I already have plans to make kiam chye buoy [hot-sour soup with mustard greens] with the turkey carcass... yummy! :)



Food talk aside, Thanksgiving has always been a time of reflection and gratitude for me, a time to recap the year's events and to remind myself of the bountiful blessings I have been showered with. I am guilty of allowing the business of career and daily living to put me into auto-pilot and I sometimes forget to take the time out of life to think about all the beautiful things in life and to be thankful for them because if I did it more often, I think I would realize how fortunate I really am. I sometimes catch myself in the midst of grumbling during early morning rush hour just really notice how beautiful Nashville is, especially where we live as there is lush greenery in abundance everywhere and with the brilliant crimson/gold/bronze everything is during the autumn, it seems to be picture perfect.

I am very thankful for the love of my fiancé which in itself is so complete and all encompassingand is based on honesty, equality, intellectualism, romance and playfulness.

I am very thankful that I am able to love and that the love is returned to me.

I am very thankful that I am healthy and that the people I love are healthy.

I am very thankful that I have dreams to follow and goals to strive for.

I am very thankful for the beauty of nature - magnificent hills, the colorful leaves, the smell of jasmine in our front yard, the setting sun, the beautiful harvest moon

Everywhere I look I see the wonders of nature and I feel so proud to be a small part of it

I am very thankful for all the good people in the world

I am very thankful that I have good friends

I am very thankful to be alive in a time when we can make the world a better place to live in

Ah… life, it truly many splendid things!

I hope that each and every one of you had a happy and safe Thanksgiving!