Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Since most of the country just celebrated Thanksgiving last week the holiday has been on my mind. I’ve been thinking about what it really means to be thankful but before we get into that I have something else to get off my chest. Lots of people were complaining before Thanksgiving about Christmas decorations being up so soon. And I admit, October is a little soon, but in the week or two before Thanksgiving I am ready for some holiday cheer. I just think that Thanksgiving leads so well into getting me all warm and giddy inside for the rest of the winter holidays. I am completely okay with decorated trees and joyful music and spiced drinks beginning with Thanksgiving. In fact – I love it!

Now that I went off on this slight tangent I need to pull myself back around to the real purpose of this blog. My message today is to be thankful for what you have. I’m sure everyone has heard a parent say something like, “You better eat those green beans because there are starving children in Africa who would love them!” I don’t know about you but that didn’t make me want to eat my green beans anymore. (This is all hypothetical too, because I actually enjoyed healthy vegetables my whole life.) But still, the reason why I should be happy I have something is because someone else is going without? That doesn’t quite make sense to me. Or what about when someone says to you, “Oh well, it could be worse.” You know what – it could also be so much better too. What good does it do to think like that? We could play the what if, could be, should be, would be, game all day long but that doesn’t change the most important thing – what is.

Be thankful for what is… what is right in front of you, what is important to you, what is in the present. That’s all that you can control anyway, right? There is the quote about the present being a gift. Maybe it’s what’s in the present that is the gift. The opportunity to live is a gift. We all saw on Facebook how many people found things to be thankful for. Maybe you don’t need to post every detail that you are thankful for but feel it, recognize it, and know it in your heart. Carry it with you where ever you are and then you don’t have to wonder any what ifs or could be’s or think about children in Africa (although it would be nice of you to think of them or donate money or something). I can’t say it enough, I am so thankful for what is in my life. This morning as I drank a Cherry Coke and watched the sun rise through the fog on campus, today as I worked, studied, and laughed, this evening as I enjoyed my ice cream sundae with homemade apple pie topping, tonight as I am about to climb into a warm bed, and maybe most importantly, right now, when some of the people I love most in the world are reading what I have to say – I am so thankful for what I have and what is.

When possible, make a U-turn...

I can’t tell you the exact number of times I have driven from KY to VA or VA to KY. It’s been quite a few. If we average about once a month for a school year, a couple times over the summer, and the three times this semester it is probably close to 20 times (40 if you don’t count round trips). I don’t really know that for sure but I can tell you something that has happened every drive. First, every time I pass by the small family air field with three small one or two seat planes I say a prayer. Sometimes I smile, sometimes I cry but I always remember and I thank God for the life I have. Second, at some point in the drive I revel in my independence. I love the feeling of being alone and thinking and knowing I am in control of my journey. I get a travel high belting a song along with the radio, rolling the windows down, and feeling like I am flying through those mountains. I wish I could capture that feeling and use it other times. It’s the feeling that tells me I am unstoppable. I can do anything in this world that I want to. I am brave and beautiful and capable. For feeling so high and mighty, things don’t go exactly as I plan on these trips. Often there is traffic, annoying drivers, lots of construction, but I can’t help any of those things. What I can help is the navigation. I’m in charge! And I often get lost.

There are many ways to get from point A to point B and I have a habit of trying them out. It’s just something that happens to me. I get so lost. Today, while I was a bit turned around in Ohio trying to get back into Kentucky I thought about “being lost” and what that really means. It could be an annoying detour. Or the negative connotation that comes with being directionally challenged. If you are a little kid (or even an adult) it can be terrifying. I wasn’t feeling any of those things though. I was perfectly at peace just trying to figure things out. It’s all about perspective.

According to me, lostness is an opportunity. It is a gift to have time to discover, explore, learn, create whatever you want. When you have no one else to rely on but yourself, you just have to figure it out. There are no other options. It’s all up to you to ask the questions and to answer them. If you were never lost you could never be found. What an amazing feeling it is when you are the one who does the losing and the finding. You don’t have to worry about the individual pieces; I think all of those come together on their own. Just look towards the future, imagine what it takes to be found, and start. Do it, right now! Maybe you need to take a deep breath in there or yell out a “WTF” as you make another U-turn but you can get through. You can do it. You are lost!! How wonderful!!!

Another thing I realized about myself on this drive is that I am starting to mellow out. Dude, I can be so chill. I like being this way! Why don’t I do it more? That might take a bit more reflection…

CommUNITY

I cannot believe I am admitting this. I never thought I would say such a thing but here I go. I miss Kentucky basketball. The day they played their first game of the season my Facebook and Twitter were full of C-A-T-S cheers and #weareUK hashtags. Anyone that knows me, knows I could really care less about a sport, especially basketball. (There are some moments I actually enjoy watching football... or volleyball, now that I think about it, but for the most part...) I really believed I had better things to do than watch TV for a couple hours.  I think that always came across in a way I never intended it to. However, I did always care about the people playing, the people watching, and the community they create together. There is just something so special about “having a team.” Following their ups and downs and being invested. Teams create identities – just ask anyone who calls themselves a member of Big Blue Nation. There is an interconnectedness strangers share when they cheer for the same team. As this season started I realized how I don’t belong in this BBN community anymore. The people who connected me and who I shared in their joy and excitement with are no longer a part of my personal system. I don’t have enough drive to bleed blue on my own. It was the connection I shared with others that made the experience so special and meaningful. Yes, I’ll wear my University of Kentucky hoodie and be so excited when someone in VA honks at me and waves because of my UK car decal but I really know now, I don’t belong to that system of Big Blue love. Maybe it’s the phenomenon that because I don’t have the opportunity to watch the games anymore, cook up snacks, check in to ask the score, etc. that I miss it – because I can’t have it. Regardless, I’m jealous of the people who’s team gives them a spirit, love, and identity that I will never have on my own.

Kentucky is far away and as much as I will always call it home I do have a community here in Virginia that I am a part of which, frankly, I think others should have feelings of jealousy about. I have the most incredible support system I could have ever dreamed of in my CSPA cohort. They are my home away from home. My JMU family. Moving to Virginia and pursuing this career field that I adore has been one of the best decisions of my life and I really credit that to the connections and relationships I have built here. We can understand each other in a way that no one else can and that is special. We celebrated a Thanksgiving dinner together with the first year cohort this weekend and I took a moment to let it sink in how lucky I am. I might not have stores dedicated to paraphernalia of our identity but I have inside jokes, shared experiences, challenges, life stories, and closeness with these people that no amount of t-shirts could make up for. In the game of life I really care about the people who are playing on the same team as me and the people at home who are watching and the combined community that I am so thankful to be a member of. So no, I don’t have a team that I watch on TV that gives me passion for a sport or a color, but every day I wake up and get the maximum amount of playing time possible by being engaged in my life. Some days I lose and some days I win. Today is a winning kind of day!

Although, I still can’t believe I wrote a sports inspired blog!