By Stacey Fisher
Freelance writer
Special to the Tribune
As the temperatures drop and the threat (or promise, depending on your affection for it) of snow can be readily felt, many people start to think about Christmas. Often, Thanksgiving is overlooked or even shuffled aside in making travel plans for the mother of all holidays. I have been guilty of this at various times throughout my life, maybe never so much as this very year.
My colleague, Gunta, and I run a room at Skyline Schools where students can come to catch up on assignments they are behind in or to seek help to get off of the ineligible list. It is aptly named “The Birds’ Nest”. We go all out for holiday decorations, especially Halloween. When it ended, my thoughts turned immediately to Christmas as a few other rooms down the hall already had a tree up. Not to be one-upped, our big old tree, put together from several that had been tossed, made its glorious annual appearance. The only problem was that I couldn’t find our decorations. As the tree sat lit for a few days, the students who came in would comment about its lack of accouterments. One day a sweet third-grade boy was observing the tree and said quietly (almost to himself), “It seems unfair to Thanksgiving to talk about Christmas now.”
That small statement burrowed its way into my brain and try as I might to evict it, it stayed for days. I went home to scrounge up some Thanksgiving decorations and transformed the tree into a fall theme. This in turn changed the dialog in the room to one of being thankful, counting your blessings, and true kindness in a season created out of those tenants. I have heard some truly amazing and heartwarming stories from the students who come in, from the love of family and friends, gratitude for a sweet pet’s company, to even the deliciousness of a Big Mac!
So, don’t take my advice, take that third-grader’s (I’m convinced he is smarter than I am anyway), and don’t short-change Thanksgiving. Take some time and think about how lucky we are to live in America, and do what you can to lend a hand to people who are less fortunate. Be grateful, be blessed, and be kind. Happy Thanksgiving!
