Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. I love it more than Christmas (religious motives notwithstanding). I love the inevitable food coma endured in front of the TV that follows the mountains of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. I
love sneaking spoonfuls of whipped cream out of the fridge until I nearly make myself sick. But most of all, I love sitting at my family's ever-growing dinner table while everyone takes a turn sharing what he/she is
thankful for. This year I spent Thanksgiving in a hospital in India and while that seems pretty grim, if not downright depressing, I found myself more thankful than ever. My sister has been keeping a gratitude blog for
the entire month of November. Every day she wakes up, looks at her life and finds limitless things to be grateful for. I must admit, I always get excited when she mentions me. It makes me feel special and loved
and humbled. It makes me feel thankful.

So this year as my family was sitting down to eat and celebrate and I was being served a lovely concoction of fluids and medicines through an IV, I started thinking about all the things for which I have to give thanks.
The more time I spend in India, the longer the list.
I am so, so thankful for food. Saturday I woke up starving for the first time in a week and actually managed to down three eggs and a fruit salad in less than ten minutes. Trust me people, this was no small feat.
And now there is no stopping it. I am eating all the time, anything and everything that tickles my fancy and I love it. I'm actually enjoying a chocolate biscuit right now.

From the moment I stepped off the plane in Delhi I have been consistently blown-away by the kindness of strangers. I am so thankful for Father Francis, who opened up his arms, his heart and his ministry to us and
traveled all the way up north just to make us feel comfortable. His brother's family adopted us - they housed, fed and entertained us to no end - giving us a genuine experience of living in India. And then there are the
sisters of the Mercy Home, with such compassion and selflessness they care not only for the girls but everyone around them. I will never forget when one day the power went out during lunch - a huge inconvenience
because the only thing keeping the flies off of our food was the overhead fan - the superior sister, without hesitation, stopped eating in order to fan us while we finished. I am so happy to have been with them as we all
had swimming lessons and took baths in the overflow rainwater in a nearby field. They are spirited, funny and beautiful people. And I sincerely thank God for Kevin, a local hotel/restaurant owner in Goa, who is quite
possibly the most generous man on the earth. He has given us a room while I've been in the hospital, he has made available his driver, phone and internet, and now he is ensuring that I get to enjoy and see Goa by
taking us out to all the sites. One week ago I hated this place and now I am having such a wonderful time.

Maybe it's being away from home for the holidays. Maybe it's because I was in the hospital for the first time ever, without my mother. But most likely, it's because I miss them so dearly that I am eternally grateful for
my family. After being surrounded by 70 of the happiest women I have ever met - most of whom do not have a family - I realized again what a blessing they are. Possibly my favorite moment so far was talking with
my brothers on the phone and each of us continuously making fun of one or the other. I look back and laugh about all the fighting we used to do (stealing every single left shoe was my personal favorite) and I am so
thankful that we are all still together and talking and connected.
Finally, I would like to send out a big thanks to everyone who went out of their way to donate a few dollars to the women at the Mercy Home - a lot of you responded and it is inspiring to see what we can do with a little
bit of effort. The girls there don't celebrate Thanksgiving but, really, they don't need to. They are a living example of it.