Gratitude

Today is going to be a very different Thanksgiving Day for my family. My Dad, Barb, and Rebecca are on their way to a tropical adventure. Meanwhile, DH2U and I are so pleasedl to have been invited to join some friends and their extended family for a Thanksgiving brunch at a restaurant. I’ve never eaten at a restaurant on Thanksgiving, so this will be a great new experience. Since my family normally has its “dinner” between noon and one, an 11 am start time has a very normal feel for us. We feel so grateful to have been welcomed to the family celebration. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the value of friendships over the last few months. It was brought to the front of my mind while I  listened to the audiobook of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. This was my second book by the author, Haruki Murakami.

The main character, Tsukuru, is suddenly dropped by his close group of high school friends during his sophomore year of college without a word of explanation. The book takes place twenty years later and shows the effect it had on him,  and  his unraveling of the mystery of why it happened. I loved this book. I was quite surprised by how the author ended it, but in thinking back (as I often have) I fully understand why he did it. (See, I told you before that I don’t do spoilers!)

Lately there have been articles circulating the internet about how hard it is to make friends once one turns 30. I feel so grateful that this has not been the case for me. While writing my holiday cards, I’ve been marveling at the wide scope of how I met the recipients. There are family (obvious how I know them!), friends from high school and college and grad school, people I’ve met at various jobs along the way, friends of friends who have become my friends themselves, and those whom I met through a common interest (Judaism, hobbies, dance).

These people are a huge gift to my life, in the same way my readers are to my blog. I wouldn’t be doing the things I do without you all.

Have a wonderful thanksgiving everyone, and thank you for making my life more complete.