thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. It's so much simpler than Christmas. Sure, there's a big dinner to prepare, but I think sharing good food with friends and family is one of the nicest things you can do. Now that we live in Chicago, we have spent Thanksgiving with some more distant relatives for the past 3 years. It's comforting to be with family, and to know that they are nearby should we ever need them, even if we are separated by a few branches on the family tree. I always bring a different side dish, and this year I was proudly named the vegetable queen. Fresh green beans the first year that definitely outshined your standard mushy casserole, kale salad last year that gave some people their first taste of that amazing vegetable, and Brussels sprouts this year.

It's good to have a simple holiday, allowing plenty of time to just sit and relax with family, and to reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. It feels a bit cliché to write about this, but we really don't take enough time for this in our normal hectic lives. I'm sure we would all be much happier and healthier if we did so. Just having 4 days away from the hospital is a major blessing! Already I've listened to good music with friends, gone to a yoga class, taken a few walks, cleaned the apartment, lounged around after the big meal, watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, slept for 11 hours last night (!), and it's only Friday.

While I was preparing the Brussels sprouts and Ian was washing dishes, we listened to the radio a bit and were intrigued by a question the reporter posed (rhetorically?) to the audience: What books are you thankful for? As we thought about it we realized that this is very different than asking what your favorite books are. Right now, I'm thankful for the Brothers Karamazov because I'm really enjoying it right now. Interestingly, one of the first books I thought of is called Anticancer, which talks about how diet, exercise, and stress affect our health in a very significant way. I think reading this book played a big role in sparking my interest in integrative & preventative medicine, which has influenced my life in a major way. I'm not sure what else, but I really like this question and plan to think on it a bit more.

How about you, what books are you thankful for?