Happy Thanksgiving!
The first American Thanksgiving was in celebration of survival and friendship according to history. Survival for the people who came on the Mayflower with a large and bountiful harvest, and friendship with the local Native Americans who helped and taught them how to survive in a strange new land. Many cultures used to celebrate the end of the harvest season with a festival.
These days, as most of the US holidays have become, it is much more commercial, and while in the modern world, there is little worry about having enough of a harvest to last the winter, there are many other things to be thankful for.
This year has been quite an adventure. We had to put our dog Kuma to sleep, then my Father getting his Kidney transplant after around 5 years of waiting on the list, followed by the trials and tribulations of the post-transplant complications. Perhaps our expectations were unreasonably high with this medical miracle of being able to transplant a working organ from a donor to replace a non-functioning one, but it the complications were a big disappointment. Yet we will always remember and give thanks to the anonymous family who in the midst of losing their loved one, made the decision that gave my father and others another lease on life.
All the advice and patient stories fail to mention that it can take more than a year for some patients to regain their strength. There is an extended period of trying to balance the medications through trial and error. And depending on the patient, there can be some...interesting...side effects. Emergency trips to the hospital, stints at a hospice care facility for physical therapy, the list goes on. All in all a very stressful time.
Yet, in the grand scheme of things, I have nothing to complain about. While we're still adjusting and monitoring, and still watching for those signs that mean another trip to the hospital, I will be able to sit down with my father, and the rest of my family and have a big Thanksgiving dinner, in a house with heat, running water, and electricity. Our home. I have many wonderful friends who have supported me over the years, and I have my own health. I have the freedom to write drivel such as this and not be jailed, or shot for it. Many cannot say the same.
I think that's a lot to be thankful for.