Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. Why? It's uniquely American. And when stripped of its football and door-buster specials, Thanksgiving is a mostly non-commercial day in celebration of the bounty of the harvest . . . the cornucopia that is our family, friends, and blessings of life and liberty. In so many respects, Shelly and I are richly blessed this year. Our family and friends, despite the miles, are closer than ever thanks to the miracles of internet communications technology, combined with the strong bonds of kinship and friendship. We have a whole new set of friends in the diplomats and host country folks we've met. We are especially thankful for the wonders and the challenges of our new lives in service to America---how having a calling larger than ourselves changes our perspective on the world and on life's occasional annoyances. Today was a celebration of this uniquely American holiday with the US Embassy staff (Americans and Mauritians) and other resident Americans here. We spent the morning cooking (see Shelly with her friend and cooking teacher Meeta above), then we trundled over to the American Ambassador's residence for a day outdoors in the sunshine . . . kids running three legged races and bobbing for apples, then a beautiful potluck feast of turkey and all the trimmings, followed by line dancing on the patio. It was great fun with great new friends and colleagues, and a celebration of our unique holiday. Happy Thanksgiving one and all!
Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday. Why? It's uniquely American. And when stripped of its football and door-buster specials, Thanksgiving is a mostly non-commercial day in celebration of the bounty of the harvest . . . the cornucopia that is our family, friends, and blessings of life and liberty. In so many respects, Shelly and I are richly blessed this year. Our family and friends, despite the miles, are closer than ever thanks to the miracles of internet communications technology, combined with the strong bonds of kinship and friendship. We have a whole new set of friends in the diplomats and host country folks we've met. We are especially thankful for the wonders and the challenges of our new lives in service to America---how having a calling larger than ourselves changes our perspective on the world and on life's occasional annoyances. Today was a celebration of this uniquely American holiday with the US Embassy staff (Americans and Mauritians) and other resident Americans here. We spent the morning cooking (see Shelly with her friend and cooking teacher Meeta above), then we trundled over to the American Ambassador's residence for a day outdoors in the sunshine . . . kids running three legged races and bobbing for apples, then a beautiful potluck feast of turkey and all the trimmings, followed by line dancing on the patio. It was great fun with great new friends and colleagues, and a celebration of our unique holiday. Happy Thanksgiving one and all!
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