This year, I was thankful for being able to watch the World Cup instead of American football on Thanksgiving Day. Waiting for the Brazil-Serbia match to begin, I could smell the turkey, dressing, peas, and mashed potatoes.
I even took a few moments to be thankful for so many things, so many relationships with people and pets, and so much opportunity. Of course, it’s easy to conjure up the negatives — Putin’s ravaging Ukraine, Trump’s trying to ravage the U.S. by running again, world leaders doing nothing to slow climate change (really, why are they called “leaders”? what are they leading?), COVID + flu + RSV making for public unhealth, inflation taking its toll, and on and on.
But the good far outweighs the bad. We have much to be thankful for. For example, now it’s even OK to end a sentence with a preposition.
So, settling in to watch Brazil beat Serbia, I enjoyed the slice of turkey with the mound of dressing, the bright green peas, and the portion of mashed potatoes with butter. Each serving was in a separate compartment of a long-forgotten, three-section aluminum tray embossed with the brand name “Swanson” that I found in my parents’ attic.